Thomas Lawrence, of Chapel Hill, Tennessee, a stockbroker formerly registered with Ameritas Investment Corp., has been fined $5,000.00, required to provide $41,332.65 in restitution, and was suspended from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity according to an Offer Accepting Offer of Settlement containing findings that Lawrence entered into an unauthorized transaction involving a customer loan. Department of Enforcement v. Thomas Lawrence, Offer of Settlement in Disciplinary Proceeding No. 2016051945101 (Sept. 22, 2017).
According to the Order, in 2013, Lawrence asked a ninety-six-year-old customer to lend Lawrence $39,364.43 so that Lawrence and his spouse could make their tax payments. Apparently, the customer consented to the transaction, and on November 30, 2013, it was effected and documented with a promissory note agreement. Ultimately, the customer lent Lawrence and his spouse $49,364.43 under the agreement that the funds would be repaid in one year with five percent interest. Yet, Lawrence purportedly failed to make any payments to the customer.
The Order reported that loan arrangements involving the firm’s customers was prohibited without the firm’s approval, and Lawrence never obtained the firm’s authorization regarding the customer’s loan arrangement. Lawrence evidently confirmed with Ameritas that he understood the firm’s policies, which restricted loan arrangements to only those parties that included an immediate family member. Lawrence even purportedly confirmed that there were no loans that were accepted or solicited by him involving a customer of the firm. The Order revealed that Lawrences’ unauthorized customer loan transaction was conduct violative of FINRA Rules 2010 and 2340.
FINRA Public Disclosure confirms that on November 21, 2016, a customer filed an investment related arbitration claim involving Lawrence’s conduct, in which the customer sought $499,364.00 in damages based upon accusations including negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, failure to supervise, unsuitable investment recommendations, account mismanagement, and fraudulent omissions and misrepresentations pertaining to limited partnership interests and direct participation program transactions effected in the customer’s account.
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