Wisconsin Financial Advisor Suspended and Fined for Unauthorized Transactions

Posted on September 3rd, 2024 at 10:18 AM
Wisconsin Financial Advisor Suspended and Fined for Unauthorized Transactions

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law

FINRA has suspended and fined Wisconsin financial advisor John E. Pelletier after he executed 16 unauthorized transactions, allowing a client's ex-wife to nearly deplete his individual retirement account (IRA). As reported by ThinkAdvisor, Pelletier, a senior financial advisor with BMO Investment Services, received a three-month suspension and a $10,000 fine.

The client discovered the unauthorized transactions when his electricity was cut off. His ex-wife, who lived with him and handled the household bills, had taken the money but failed to pay the electric bill for months. This situation led the client to uncover that his IRA had been almost entirely drained without his knowledge.

FINRA's hearing office determined that Pelletier enabled distributions at the direction of DP’s ex-wife, who was not an authorized agent on the account.

Despite Pelletier's claim that the client had given oral authorization for his ex-wife to direct trades, the panel found no evidence supporting this claim.ThinkAdvisor also reports that Pelletier’s actions violated BMO Investment Services’ written policies, which explicitly warned against accepting orders from an account owner’s spouse.

 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, finra

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

I am grateful to have found an outstanding law firm that specializes in securities matters. My lawyers were extremely knowledgeable, diligent, and are skilled litigators. No stone was left upturned. As a result of their experience and tenacity, the arbitration proceeding was dismissed in my favor.

Michael E.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

February 6, 2026
Delaware Regulators Fine Kovack Advisors $985,000

Kovack Advisors Inc., the registered investment adviser affiliate of independent broker-dealer Kovack Securities Inc., agreed to pay a $985,000 fine to Delaware securities regulators.

February 5, 2026
FINRA Fines Broker-Dealer for Repeated Form CRS Disclosure Failures

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined VSI Securities Inc., formerly known as Venecredit Securities Inc., $20,000 for failing to accurately disclose the firm’s disciplinary history in its customer relationship summary, known as Form CRS.

February 4, 2026
Investor Redemptions Rise in Nontraded BDCs Amid Credit Concerns

Financial advisors and their clients have increased redemptions from nontraded business development companies (BDCs) following a series of high-profile corporate bankruptcies, according to InvestmentNews. The surge highlights growing investor concern about liquidity and credit exposure within these high-yield but often risky investment ...