ROGER D FOLLIS Fined and Suspended by FINRA

ROGER DANIEL FOLLIS (ROGER D FOLLIS) was fined $10,000 and suspended for 45 days by FINRA for allegedly using an unapproved personal email to send business-related messages to a client. This disclosure was dated 12/5/2025. ROGER D FOLLIS is both a broker and investment advisor with A.G.P. / ALLIANCE GLOBAL PARTNERS of Washington D.C. since 2/23/2024.  He was previously registered with B. RILEY WEALTH ADVISORS, INC., and WELLS FARGO ADVISORS, both of Washington, D.C.

Without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, ROGER D FOLLIS consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he allegedly caused his member firm to maintain incomplete books and records by sending business-related communications to a firm customer using a personal email account that was not disclosed to, nor approved by, his firm.

FINRA’s findings stated that the emails included investment recommendations and information about the customer's portfolio investments and balances. Some of the emails allegedly contained complaints against ROGER D FOLLIS by the customer about activity in his account.

The FINRA report added that on annual compliance questionnaires during the relevant period, ROGER D FOLLIS reported to the firm that he had followed its policy requiring business-related emails to be transmitted through firm-approved email. Follis allegedly did not provide the firm with copies of the messages, including the written customer complaints, for review or retention. As a result, the firm did not capture or preserve the emails as required.

According to a recent article in AdvisorHub, ROGER D FOLLIS had been with B. RILEY WEALTH ADVISORS’ independent channel, sending over 1,900 emails to the customer from his personal account between 2020 and 2023, according to FINRA. Follis allegedly did not disclose his use of the account to B. RILEY, allegedly violated FINRA’s books and records rules as well as its catch-all Rule 2010. FINRA’s inquiry was sparked by a U5 termination form filed by B. RILEY WEALTH ADVISORS in February. 

According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, on 2/21/2024, ROGER D FOLLIS was discharged from B. RILEY WEALTH MANAGEMENT following the allegations of, “Failure to communicate with clients in a firm-approved manner, failed to maintain books and records for a period of time, failure to timely report a customer complaint, submitted incorrect information in compliance questionnaires.”

BrokerCheck states that Follis has been in the securities industry for 30 years and was listed with 10 firms.  He has 3 disclosures on his FINRA CRD report.  One is the “Regulatory” fining and suspending him, one is the “Employment Separation after Allegations” listing his discharge from B. RILEY, and the third disclosure is a “Customer Dispute” filed against ROGER D FOLLIS dated 12/4/2023 that alleged, “Misunderstanding of asset allocation during the pandemic volatility.” The settlement amount was $1,750,000.00.

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