A former financial advisor with Bank of America’s Merrill Edge unit has been barred from the industry under a settlement reached with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, according to AdvisorHub.
Mario L. Martinez resigned from Merrill Edge in January while under internal review. His BrokerCheck record indicated he had been accused of misappropriating client funds and accepting a loan from a client. FINRA, acting on a tip, began investigating Martinez’s conduct.
According to FINRA’s letter of acceptance, waiver and consent, the authority sent a request to Martinez in February to produce documents and information as part of its investigation. Martinez acknowledges that he received FINRA’s request and will not produce the information or documents requested at any time.
By failing to produce the information as requested, he was found to be in violation of FINRA Rules 8210 and 2010.
Rule 8210(a)(1) requires a “member, person associated with a member, or any other person subject to FINRA’s jurisdiction to provide information orally, in writing, or electronically . . . with respect to any matter involved in [a FINRA] investigation [or] examination.” FINRA Rule 8210(c) further states that “[n]o member or person shall fail to provide information or testimony . . . pursuant to this Rule.” A violation of Rule 8210 is also a violation of FINRA Rule 2010, which requires persons associated with a FINRA member to “observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade” in the conduct of their business.
Martinez did not admit or deny FINRA’s findings but accepted them and consented to a bar from associating with any FINRA member in all capacities
Martinez’s lawyer, Victor E. Rocha in Miami, did not respond to a request for comment, and Martinez did not respond to a request for comment sent through LinkedIn. A spokesperson for Merrill declined to comment
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