FINRA Bars Advisor for Forging Signatures and Violating Regulation Best Interest
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred Christopher Reynolds for forging customer signatures on annuity documents and violating Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI). According to InvestmentNews, Reynolds consented to findings that he forged signatures on multiple documents to liquidate annuities and reinvested the proceeds in a registered index-linked annuity product, all without proper disclosure or suitability review.
According to the settlement agreement, known as an Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”), Reynolds forged the signatures of three customers on 11 documents between September 2021 and January 2023, causing Pruco to maintain inaccurate records. Additionally, Reynolds recommended annuity withdrawals and reinvestments to four customers without a reasonable basis to believe these transactions were in the customers’ best interests, violating Reg BI.
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