Former Morgan Stanley Advisor Fined and Suspended for Unauthorized Trading
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
FINRA has fined a former Morgan Stanley advisor, Craig Sherman Thistlethwaite, $10,000 and suspended him for 60 days for unauthorized trading and other violations.
As reported by AdvisorHub, Thistlethwaite conducted 546 trades between January 2014 and April 2021 in two customers' accounts without obtaining the necessary authorizations. Additionally, he communicated with a customer about trades using an unapproved personal cell phone.
Thistlethwaite violated several FINRA rules, including those against unauthorized trading and recordkeeping requirements, as well as FINRA's Rule 2010. Under an Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”), he settled the charges without admitting or denying the findings.
Thistlethwaite's actions led to substantial financial repercussions for Morgan Stanley. In December 2022, an arbitration panel awarded nearly $12 million to an investor who alleged that the firm failed to supervise an unsuitable options strategy involving technology stocks like Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Salesforce, and Microsoft. In a related case, Morgan Stanley paid $4.2 million to the customer's spouse, who filed a separate claim over the same options strategy.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.
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