Bennett R Zamani Fined and Suspended

Bennett Robert Zamani (Bennett R Zamani CRD#: 6198730) was fined $27,500 and suspended for 14 months by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).  Zamani is a former broker from Morgan Stanley in Paramus, New Jersey, who allegedly operated an unapproved day trading newsletter and used a personal phone for business texts with customers.
On May 16, 2022, without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, Bennett R Zamani, consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he allegedly failed to provide notice to his member firm that he was participating in an outside business activity (OBA), by owning and operating a company that offered a subscription-based, investment content.
FINRA’s findings stated that on the company's website, which was established and operated by Bennett R Zamani, the company maintained a blog, containing investment-related content, and maintained a  publicly available YouTube channel, with investment related videos. FINRA alleges, Zamani published content to the blog under his name or an alias and appeared in videos on the company's YouTube channel.
The FINRA findings also alleged that Bennett R Zamani authored newsletters, containing investment related content, which he distributed to the company's subscribers. While registered through the firm, Zamani allegedly earned approximately $360,000 from his activity with the company. Also, Zamani allegedly submitted compliance questionnaires to the firm in which he falsely stated that he had fully disclosed his OBAs.
FINRA’s findings alleged that in connection with his OBA, Bennett R Zamani circulated investment-related communications to the public, including firm customers, that allegedly failed to comply with the content standards of FINRA because they contained misleading and promissory statements and made recommendations without providing a sound basis for evaluating the facts.
According to the findings, Zamani caused the firm to maintain incomplete books and records by using a personal text messaging application, which was not approved by the firm, to allegedly engage in business-related communications with firm customers. Zamani's communications on the unapproved device and application included text messages related to securities recommendations, account performance, account fees, and market events.
According to a recent article in AdvisorHub, Bennett R Zamani, co-authored a swing trading how-to book. The article states his LinkedIn profile lists him as a partner at Trading Experts, and he has not been registered since he was discharged by Morgan Stanley in April 2020.
FINRA’s BrokerCheck, available to the public on FINRA’s website states that Bennett R Zamani has been registered both as a broker and as a financial advisor.  Zamani has been in the securities industry for 5 years and has 3 disclosures on his FINRA CRD report. There is a disclosure dated April 30, 2020, stating that Zamani was discharged from Morgan Stanley following the allegations of, “Allegations regarding whether employee (i) executed trades in a client account without client's oral pre-approval, (ii) communicated with same client on a non-firm communication platform, and (iii) participated in an unapproved, investment-related, outside business activity.”
Zamani was listed with the following two firms:
01/17/2017 - 05/29/2020  MORGAN STANLEY  -  PARAMUS, NJ
06/29/2013 - 09/02/2015  T3 TRADING GROUP LLC – NEW YORK, NY
FINRA requires all registered representatives to notify their firms in writing of proposed outside business activities (OBAs), and all associated persons to notify their firms in writing of proposed private securities transactions (PSTs), so firms can determine whether to limit or allow those activities.  According the AdvisorHub article, FINRA stated at their annual conference that the problem has only worsened in the pandemic era as it has become more difficult to watch a remote workforce and more opportunities have arisen for brokers to become influencers on social media or tied with cryptocurrency promotion. Firms are still required to supervise their brokers and can be held liable for their actions.
If you’ve experienced losses due to the actions or recommendations of the former Morgan Stanley broker, Bennett R Zamani, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer at no cost regarding the possible recovery of your investment losses through a FINRA arbitration at: 888-760-6552.
Soreide Law Group works on a contingency fee basis and represents clients nationwide before FINRA.