Wells Fargo’s Francisco Ortiz Suspended For Falsifying Wire Request

Francisco Jose Ortiz (CRD #4677135, Miami, Florida), who was a registered representative of Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC between June 5, 2013 and June 16, 2015, was required by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) to pay a $5,000.00 fine and suspend acting as a broker or associating with FINRA member broker-dealer firms for a one month period ending June 20, 2018, pursuant to an Order Accepting Offer of Settlement (Case #2016051454501) that was executed on May 14, 2018. Ortiz consented to FINRA’s findings that he falsified a wire transfer request form.
As stated in the Order, an imposter that posed as a customer of Wells Fargo e-mailed a Wells Fargo financial advisor on May 7, 2015, requesting that a wire transfer of $9,850.00 be executed to a London, England bank account from the customer’s investment account. Evidently, Ortiz was tasked with processing the wire request, which necessitated steps to be taken by him to confirm that the wire transfer was legitimate. The findings stated that Ortiz failed to contact the customer, disobeying the financial advisor’s instructions.
The Order specified that Ortiz was contacted by the actual customer on May 8, 2015, who stated that the wire transfer request was not authentic because the customer’s account was hacked. Ortiz, according to the Order, failed to address the issue with Wells Fargo staff.
Subsequently, the Wells Fargo financial advisor prompted Ortiz to confirm whether he spoke with the customer. Apparently; however, Ortiz forgot about the actual customer phoning him about the account being hacked, and proceeded to process the imposter’s wire transfer request. In the process, the Order stated, Ortiz completed a wire transfer request form which detailed information containing, among other things, a confirmation of the wire transfer request’s legitimacy. The Order stated that Ortiz falsely represented that the financial advisor confirmed the authenticity of the wire transfer request.

Ortiz was terminated following the actual customer’s complaint regarding his activities. FINRA Office of Hearing Officers held that Ortiz violated FINRA Rule 2010 by falsifying the wire transfer request form, and violated FINRA Rules 4511 and 2010 by causing Wells Fargo’s books and records to be inaccurate.
Ortiz has disclosed on FINRA BrokerCheck that his activities while employed with former employer, WM Financial Services, Inc., have resulted in a customer investment-related complaint dated August 31, 2007. The customer alleged that mutual fund and variable annuity transactions recommended to the customer were unsuitable. The customer’s complaint was settled for $9,469.00.
If you sustained losses from sales practice violations committed by Francisco Jose Ortiz or another registered representatives, connect with Soreide Law Group at (888) 760-6552 to discuss your case with our qualified counsel. Soreide Law Group represents clients nationwide and only charges a fee upon recovery of losses.