Morgan Stanley Broker Fined And Suspended For Settling Away

Morgan Stanley Broker Fined And Suspended For Settling Away
Lewis Howard Robinson (CRD #1630516, Aventura, Florida) has been a registered representative of Morgan Stanley between December 2, 2009 and October 9, 2015. Robinson consented to being suspended by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and paying a $10,000.00 fine pursuant to a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”) #2015047287101 that was executed on August 31, 2017. He was found liable for settling a customer’s complaints without Morgan Stanley’s knowledge or approval.

Morgan Stanley's Lewis Robinson Accrues Customer Complaints

The AWC stated that from September 2014 to August 2015, a customer, HL, complained to Robinson three separate times about being overcharged. The customer alleged that Robinson charged too much in commissions on the transactions placed in the customer’s account. Instead of informing Morgan Stanley, Robinson wrote three checks to the customer’s wife to resolve the disputes. FINRA found that Robinson committed a violation of FINRA Rule 2010 because of his concealment of the customer’s complaints.
FINRA BrokerCheck disclosed that ten other customers have filed disputes alleging that Robinson engaged in sales practice violations. Those customers have maintained accounts at Morgan Stanley, UBS Financial Services Inc., and Prudential Securities Incorporated. Here is a summary of some of those disputes:
1) A UBS Financial Services Inc. customer filed a complaint on June 7, 2004. The customer contended that as the customer’s financial advisor, Robinson executed trades that were unauthorized and unsuitable for the customer. The customer was reportedly placed in bonds and over-the-counter equities that were inappropriate. The complaint was settled for $20,000.00 on November 12, 2004.
2) On February 26, 2009, a customer of UBS Financial Services Inc. filed a complaint that alleged sales practice violations to have occurred in connection with the customer’s auction rate securities municipal debt holdings. Apparently, the customer’s assets were exposed to illiquidity of the auction rate securities market. The customer’s case was settled for $50,000.00 on December 30, 2009.
3) A Morgan Stanley Smith Barney customer filed a complaint on September 8, 2015. The customer alleged that Robinson provided inaccurate information to the customer concerning the yields of individual retirement account securities. In addition, the customer alleged that Robinson liquidated the customer’s account without the customer’s permission. The customer’s complaint was settled for $95,000.00 on October 2, 2015.
4) On November 13, 2015, another customer of Morgan Stanley filed a complaint. The customer contended that Robinson made unsuitable trades in the customer’s account from September 2011 to September of 2015. The customer alleged that the stock, closed-end fund and exchange-traded fund transactions were not appropriate. The customer agreed to be compensated $54,000.00 in damages to resolve the matter.
5)  A Morgan Stanley customer brought an arbitration on July 29, 2016. The customer alleged that the purchase of 2,000 Sea Drill Limited stock shares for the customer’s account was not suitable for the customer. On May 4, 2017, arbitrators found that Robinson was responsible for the unsuitable transactions, and ordered Robinson to pay the customer compensatory damages totaling $29,060.00. (FINRA Arbitration Case #16-02067)
FINRA BrokerCheck also indicates that on October 6, 2015, Morgan Stanley discharged Robinson, citing allegations that he engaged in unauthorized fee-reimbursements with a customer.

Have you experienced losses from Lewis Howard Robinson or other registered representatives based on misrepresentations, unsuitable sales or other sales practice violations? If so, contact Soreide Law Group at (888) 760-6552 and speak with an experienced attorney about the possibility of recovering your investment losses. Soreide Law Group represents clients nationwide and only charges a fee upon recovery of investment losses.