Securities Lawyers Blog
The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that Broker Jason Wolter (Wolter) has been accused by investors of engaging in fraudulent misappropriation of their funds. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), it appears that Wolter was employed by Morgan Stanley at the time of the activity. If you have been a victim of Wolter’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on March 28, 2024.
Without admitting or denying the findings, Wolter consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he exercised discretion in the accounts of two customers without written authorization from the customers and without seeking his member firm’s approval of the accounts as discretionary. The findings stated that one customer instructed Wolter to communicate with the customer’s son about transactions in his accounts, and the customer granted his wife and son power of attorney authority (POA) over his financial accounts. Wolter did not obtain a copy of the POA, inform his member firm of the POA, or amend the customer’s account information to reflect the POA or any authorizations over the customer’s account. Nonetheless, Wolter stopped seeking the customer’s prior approval for the transactions and, instead, sought prior approval from the customer’s wife or son, neither of whom were authorized in the firm’s records to approve transactions in the customer’s accounts. A second customer gave Wolter implied authorization to exercise discretion in the customer’s account, but Wolter did not have written authorization to exercise discretion in the account, and the firm did not approve the account as discretionary.
We have a strong track record of advocating for victims of fraud when advisors obtain loans from clients or engage in securities sales via OBAs. The practice of selling unapproved investments, promoting fraudulent schemes to hide misused funds, and engaging in other deceptive acts is known in the industry as “selling away,” a major infraction of securities laws. The term “selling away” in the industry refers to financial advisors promoting investments in businesses, promissory notes, or securities that their affiliated brokerage firm has not approved. Some of these investments may appear legitimate, but they often lead to Ponzi schemes or advisors engaging in fund misappropriation.
However, federal securities laws and the FINRA rules require firms to monitor and supervise its employees in order to detect and prevent brokers from offering investments in this fashion. To adequately supervise their brokers, firms must implement systems that track advisors’ activities and communications with the public. Selling away misconduct often occurs where brokerage firms either fail to put in place a reasonable supervisory system or fail to actually implement that system. Supervisory failures allow brokers to engage in unsupervised misconduct that can include all manner improper conduct including selling away.
In cases of selling away the investor is unaware that the advisor’s investments are improper. In many of these cases the investor will not learn that the broker’s activities were wrongful until after the investment scheme is publicized, the broker is fired or charged by law enforcement, or stops returning client calls altogether.
Wolter entered the securities industry in 1998. Wolter has been registered as a Broker with Morgan Stanley since 2019.
Investors who have suffered losses are encouraged to contact us at (800) 810-4262 for consultation. At Gana Weinstein LLP, our attorneys are experienced representing investors who have suffered securities losses due to the mishandling of their accounts. Claims may be brought in securities arbitration before FINRA. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.
