The following information is from FINRA’s website under “Disciplinary and Other FINRA Actions, November, 2012.”

Rafael Antonio Calleja (CRD #2777245, Registered Representative, Tampa, Florida)

submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Wavier and Consent in which he was censured and barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Calleja consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that he falsely told a customer that he had transferred 14 accounts from a previous member firm to his new member firm in accordance with the customer’s instructions when he had already closed four of the accounts at the previous firm and opened only 10 accounts at his new firm.

Calleja continued to make false representations to the customer that all the accounts existed and that certain trades and transfer of funds and securities
were effected in the accounts that no longer existed.

FINRA’s findings stated that Calleja recommended and effected hundreds of securities transactions that were inconsistent with the customer’s objectives for his accounts and risk tolerance. Calleja recommended that the customer open a Loan Management Account (LMA) with the bank affiliated with
his firm. Without the customer’s knowledge or consent, Calleja transferred funds from the LMA to the customer’s various securities accounts, including accounts that Calleja opened two weeks prior to the LMA application and funded with nominal amounts of money.

After a few months, the customer’s LMA balance was $531,863.11, all of which had been transferred to the accounts the customer pledged as collateral. With the proceeds from the LMA deposited into the various securities accounts, Calleja recommended and effected numerous unsuitable transactions in the customer’s securities accounts at his firm.

The FINRA findings also stated that at the time the customer transferred his accounts to Calleja’s firm, the customer’s securities accounts were opened as fee-based accounts rather than commission-based accounts, and Calleja received a percentage of the fees charged to the customer’s accounts. Calleja falsely told the customer that he was no longer receiving any compensation related to servicing the customer’s securities accounts. The customer told
Calleja that he wanted him to receive compensation so that Calleja would closely monitor his accounts and provide quality customer service.

FINRA’s findings also included that the customer agreed to allow Calleja to withdraw funds each week from one of his accounts using an automated teller machine (ATM) card linked to that account, based on the false premise that the funds would compensate Calleja for his services. Calleja withdrew $67,300
for his personal use.

FINRA found that without the customer’s knowledge or consent, Calleja funded the account to make these withdrawals by transferring money from the customer’s other securities accounts and from the LMA, thereby incurring interest expenses for the customer in addition to the money being withdrawn.

Although the customer told Calleja to stop making withdrawals from his accounts, Calleja continued to make such withdrawals until the customer told him that he would contact Calleja’s supervisor about the withdrawals.

FINRA also found that Calleja began to repay the customer the money he had withdrawn from the account; to prevent his firm from becoming aware of any such payments to the customer, Calleja instructed the customer to open an account at another bank where Calleja would deposit the repayment. Calleja wired $45,000 to one of the customer’s accounts from an account he controlled, which did not list his name because he did not want his firm to learn that he was wiring money to a firm customer. Although Calleja repaid the funds to the customer, at the time he took the money, he had no intention of repaying the customer and falsely represented to him that the money was for services rendered.

In addition, FINRA determined that Calleja effected securities transactions in the customer’s account without the customer’s knowledge or authorization. When the customer saw the account statement reflecting the stock purchases, he confronted Calleja and eventually sold the stocks.
(FINRA Case #2008015214901)
This ends the information from FINRA’s website.

If you invested with Rafel Antonio Calleja, call and speak at no charge to a securities attorney who may potentially help you recover your losses. Call 888-760-6552, or visit http://www.securitieslawyer.com.

Soreide Law Group, PLLC, representing investors nationwide before FINRA the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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Soreide Law Group, PLLC,  is currently investigating potential claims against Rafael Calleja, a former Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch stock broker.

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