A former advisor for Edward Jones has won the right to clear his record of what he said was defamatory information regarding his termination from the firm, according to ThinkAdvisor.
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitrator decided recently that Matthew J. Hawk can modify the language that Edward Jones left on his public BrokerCheck record when he was fired in 2013. The company contended on Hawk’s Form U5 that he was discharged for providing inaccurate information on a client’s life insurance application.
The arbitrator decided that explanation was defamatory and should be expunged. The arbitrator said that while Hawk’s record should still show that he was fired, the explanation must be changed to say that Hawk “was improperly investigated for an exaggerated claim of having committed fraud.” The ruling also orders that all references to the termination explanation state that “No customers were involved, there were no acts of wrongful taking of property, violation of investment-related statutes, regulations or rules and no SEC or FINRA rules, codes or policies were violated by Mr. Hawk.”
At the time he was fired, Edward Jones accused Hawk of inaccurately saying on the life insurance application that a customer had never smoked even though the client had been rated as a tobacco user by another insurance company.
Hawk responded that during an insurance application review, an insurance company found the client “had smoked a couple cigarettes a few months back.” While the insurer rated the client a smoker, a representative from that company said another insurer may look at the situation differently, Hawk told authorities.
“Based on this explanation, I submitted a different application to a second life insurance company as a non-smoker on behalf of the client,” he said. Hawk also sent an email to the insurer along with the application explaining the client’s situation, but said Edward Jones fired him because he didn’t put that information directly on the application.
Hawk, now an advisor at Cambridge Capital Management, filed a claim against Edward Jones last year with FINRA Dispute Resolution Services seeking expungement of the explanation.. According to the arbitration award, Edward Jones “took no position” on Hawk’s request to expunge his record.
An inaccurate Form U5 filing threatens your career in the financial services industry and may permanently put you at a disadvantage when seeking future opportunities. If you are concerned that you may be, or if you already have been, terminated from your firm, or if you believe you have inaccurate information on your Form U5, we invite you to contact Lewitas Hyman at (888) 655-6002 or through our online contact form to schedule a free consultation.
