JOHAN M PEREIRA Fined Due to Bitcoin Sales

On December 10, 2021, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) suspended JOHAN M PEREIRA (JOHAN MANUEL PEREIRA) CRD#: 6252881 for seven months and issued a $10,000 fine after a client had allegedly hired him to assist with investing in and purchasing bitcoin, according to a letter of settlement finalized on December 10, 2021.
According to an article in AdvisorHub, the Beverly, Massachusetts, broker was allegedly working with the client through an approved outside business activity (OBA) but the crypto work was beyond the scope of what had been authorized by Wells Fargo, FINRA stated. FINRA has sent a warning to brokers regarding advising clients on cryptocurrency investments not offered by their firms.
Without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, JOHAN M PEREIRA consented to the sanctions and to the entry of FINRA’s findings that he allegedly failed to fully disclose the nature of his outside business activities (OBAs).
JOHAN M PEREIRA allegedly began to engage in activities that were beyond the scope of his approved OBA. Pereira was allegedly hired to assist a client in purchasing Bitcoin and purchased Bitcoin himself for that client. FINRA alleges that Pereira did not disclose this broader activity to the firm.
FINRA’s findings also stated that JOHAN M PEREIRA failed to timely respond to FINRA's requests for information and documents in connection with its investigation into his OBA. According to FINRA, Pereira provided written responses to the requests for information but produced no documents. Pereira did not request an extension to allow him to produce the requested documents. FINRA stated that later Pereira produced some, but not all, of the documents. Also, FINRA took Pereira's testimony and from his testimony, and according to FINRA, it became apparent that he allegedly had not thoroughly searched for responsive documents. Pereira later produced additional documents.
According to an article in AdvisorHub, Wells Fargo fired Pereira in February 2020 for allegedly “exceeding the conditions placed on his approved outside business activity by assisting an individual to purchase bitcoin for his business,” according to the firm’s U5 filing. At the time, Wells Fargo did not offer bitcoin as an option for clients, according to the disclosure.
According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, available to the public on FINRA’s website, JOHAN M PEREIRA has been in the securities industry for 5 years and has been listed with 4 firms.  He has one disclosure on his FINRA CRD report.  Pereira was previously registered both as a broker and as an investment advisor.
The following firms are the most recent JOHAN M PEREIRA was registered with:
12/19/2017 - 02/20/2020  WELLS FARGO CLEARING SERVICES LLC - BEVERLY, MA
10/20/2015 - 10/26/2017  SANTANDER SECURITIES LLC - NORTH ANDOVER, MA
If you've experienced financial losses due to the former Wells Fargo of Beverly, Massachusetts broker/financial advisor, JOHAN M PEREIRA, 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, no fee to you if no recovery, and represents clients nationwide before FINRA.