On September 9, 2020, JODIE LANE (Also known as: JODIE GRUBER, JODIE PIKE) CRD#: 5069112, was fined $10,000 and suspended for four months by FINRA, for allegedly failing to follow her former firm’s (LPL Financial of Franklin, Wisconsin) policies on disclosing financial dealings with clients.
Without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, JODIE LANE consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that she allegedly circumvented her member firm's Written Supervisory Procedures (WSPs), which prohibited brokers from engaging in certain relationships with clients and accepting gifts, in connection with her client, who was her second cousin once removed.
FINRA’s findings stated that the firm prohibited brokers from acting as a power of attorney for a client, being designated as a beneficiary on client accounts, having check writing authority over client accounts, and receiving gifts from clients exceeding $100.
According to the FINRA report, the client granted JODIE LANE three powers of attorney (POA) over their financial affairs, which included, a health care POA, a general financial POA, and a POA over their outside checking account, which had the power to withdraw funds from, and write checks on, the checking account. When the firm hired Lane, she allegedly did not inform them of the powers of attorney, or that she had check writing authority over the client's bank accounts as required.
According to FINRA, Lane accepted $154,299 in gifts from the client, by allegedly transferring the funds from the client's checking account to her accounts. Additionally, the client allegedly designated Lane the transfer on death beneficiary for two of her brokerage accounts. At the time, the total value of the accounts was approximately $768,000. Lane allegedly did not notify the firm as was required by its procedures, nor did not designate the accounts as employee related. When the client died, JODIE LANE inherited more than $715,000.
FINRA’s findings also stated that Lane stated, in three annual compliance questionnaires, that she did not have any client relationships such as a power of attorney to report, and she had not received gifts valued at over $100 dollars from a client, which was allegedly not true, according to FINRA.
According to an article in Financial Advisor IQ, between May of 2011 and July of 2017, JODIE LANE allegedly circumvented several of LPL’s written supervisory procedures on prohibited actions and accepting gifts, in relation to her client who was Lane’s second cousin once removed. FINRA stated that Lane voluntarily resigned from LPL in July 2017. But in October of 2017, according to the article in Financial Advisor IQ, LPL amended Lane’s Form U5 termination notice to say that it opened a review into her dealings with a client, and in December of 2017 amended the form again to say that an investigation found that Lane’s client gave her monetary gifts as well as powers of attorney on several accounts and designated Lane as beneficiary on two accounts.
According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, JODIE LANE was registered in the securities industry for 14 years. She was listed with 5 firms, the most recent listed below:
10/02/2017 - 08/17/2020 WOODBURY FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC - GREENFIELD, WI
07/31/2017 - 10/03/2017 SSI INVESTMENTS INC - Hales Corners, WI
07/05/2011 - 08/08/2017 LPL FINANCIAL LLC - FRANKLIN, WI
If you’ve experienced losses due to the actions or recommendations of Wisconsin broker, JODIE LANE, 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 and represents our clients nationwide before FINRA.