A panel of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitrators denied the expungement request of a former Florida broker due to the amount of time he waited to file it, according to Advisor Hub.
The broker, Jeffrey T. Radke, was trying to expunge a customer complaint from 2008 when he was registered with TD Ameritrade. But FINRA sets a six-year time limit for such requests to be filed.
As a result, the panel of three public FINRA arbitrators denied what it called the “untimely” request. They said that other FINRA panels have not applied the time limit rule in certain circumstances, but they wrote that in this case, Radke’s “very substantial delay” had “resulted in the loss of records and other proof of critical communications between” the broker and the complaining customers, who have since “passed on.”.
“[T]he 18-year delay from the events in question and the resulting loss or destruction of pertinent records has resulted in the inability of this Panel to assess the truth or falsehood of the allegations made by the Customers,” the panel wrote. “The resulting prejudice to this process from the delay supports the decision of the Panel to deny expungement.”
The customer complaint from 2008 said that Radke purchased an open-ended fund without authorization. Radke responded on BrokerCheck that the fund had “issued intentions” to liquidate but some positions were unavailable for immediate redemption
The customers were seeking $50,000 in damages, and TD Ameritrade settled the complaint for nearly $16,000.
“Upon review of the complaint, the firm determined to take no action against the associate as evidence to substantiate an allegation of an unauthorized trade was not found,” Radke wrote in the comment, adding that TD Ameritrade decided to purchase the client’s remaining positions as “a business decision” and to “maintain the relationship with the client.”
Radke did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent through social media. A spokesperson for Schwab declined to provide a comment.
The attorneys at Hyman Cotter PC have considerable experience with FINRA’s procedures for expunging false, defamatory and erroneous disclosures from a registered representative’s record. This experience includes seeking expungement in existing FINRA customer and employment arbitrations, as well as filing separate FINRA arbitrations for the sole purpose of seeking expungement. If you have any concerns about problematic disclosures on your CRD record or those that are viewable on FINRA’s BrokerCheck portal, contact Hyman Cotter PC at 312-291-4600 or through our online contact form for a free consultation.
