Former Wells Fargo Florida Broker, Richard Alan Shotz, Fined and Suspended by FINRA

Soreide Law Group, based in Florida, obtained the following from FINRA’s Disciplinary Report March, 2018:
Richard Alan Shotz (CRD #1681893, Port Orange, Florida) 
was fined $7,500 and suspended by FINRA for four months for allegedly engaging in an unsuitable pattern of short-term trading of unit investment trusts (UITs) in client accounts.
FINRA’s findings stated that in connection with these 486 client accounts, Richard Alan Shotz repeatedly recommended that the clients purchase UITs and then sell these products well before their maturity dates. The majority of the UITs that Shotz allegedly recommended had maturity dates of at least 24 months. However, Shotz continually recommended that his clients sell their UIT positions less than a year after purchase, according to the FINRA report.
FINRA states that the average holding period for the UITs purchased in these clients’ accounts was 143 days. Also, on approximately 1,200 occasions, Shotz allegedly recommended that his clients use the proceeds from the short-term sale of a UIT to purchase another UIT with identical investment objectives.
Richard Alan Shotz’s recommendations caused the clients to incur unnecessary sales charges and were unsuitable in view of the frequency and cost of the transactions, according to FINRA.
The suspension is in effect from February 20, 2018, through June 19, 2018.
(FINRA Case #2015048039501)
According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, which is available to the public on FINRA’s website, Richard Alan Shotz was in the securities industry for 30 years and had 9 Disclosures on his report.  One of the Disclosures was an, ”Employment Separation after Allegations” and stated, “Mr. Shotz was discharged after a Firm review of the issues involved in FINRA Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent.” There are also 6 “Customer Disputes” on his report.
Shotz was with 5 firms, the 2 most recent are listed below:
10/23/2015 - 03/15/2018 WELLS FARGO CLEARING SERVICES LLC – DAYTONA BEACH, FL
06/01/2009 - 10/28/2015 MORGAN STANLEY - ORMOND BEACH, FL 
If you experienced losses due to the actions or recommendations of Richard Alan Shotz, particularly regarding UITs, contact the Florida-based Soreide Law Group and speak to a securities lawyer regarding the possible recovery of your investment losses through a FINRA arbitration at:  888-760-6552.
Soreide Law Group represents clients nationwide before FINRA.  We operate on a contingency fee basis—no fee to you if no recovery.  Let our years of experience work for you.