FINRA Fines and Suspends LA Broker For Money Transfer Requested by Imposter

The following information appeared on FINRA’s website under "Disciplinary and Other Actions, August, 2013.”

Jennifer Marie Burton (CRD #5019693, Registered Representative, Los Angeles, California)

was fined $7,500 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for one month. Without admitting or denying the findings, Burton consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that she falsely attested on her member firm’s document verification forms and wire service request forms that she spoke with a customer, as well as provided a fictitious purpose for the wire request.

Jennifer Burton provided an imposter who had hacked into a customer's account, the account balances and attached a blank letter of authorization (LOA) form to complete and return to her for wire transfer requests. This imposter sent Burton another email from the customer’s email address requesting cash transfers totaling $85,000 from one of the customer’s accounts to his clients in Australia and faxed two LOAs to Burton. The imposter also provided the third-parties’ account numbers and routing numbers at the Australian banks. Burton entered the missing account numbers and the purpose for the wires in the document verification forms for the LOAs.

FINRA found that Burton forwarded the document verification forms for the LOAs to the firm’s operations department for review. Burton became suspicious of the wire request activity and called the customer to verify the requests. The customer informed Burton that he never made any wire transfer requests. Burton’s firm was able to reverse the wire transfer instructions and return the $85,000 to the customer’s account without any loss to the customer.
The suspension was in effect from July 1, 2013, through July 31, 2013. (FINRA Case #2012032843301)

According to FINRA's BrokerCheck, JENNIFER M. BURTON CRD# 5019693 is currently employed by and registered with the following FINRA Firm(s):

MORGAN STANLEY
10960 WILSHIRE BLVD.
SUITE 2000
LOS ANGELES, CA 90024
CRD# 149777
Registered with this firm since: 9/13/2012

Burton was previously registered with FINRA at the following brokerage firms:

WELLS FARGO ADVISORS, LLC
CRD# 19616
LOS ANGELES, CA
06/2007 - 06/2012

CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC.
CRD# 7059
LOS ANGELES, CA
09/2005 - 06/2007

This ends the information obtained on FINRA’s website.

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