A former advisor for Wells Fargo Advisors has lost an arbitration decision in his legal dispute with the firm involving a bonus payment, according to AdvisorHub.
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitrator ordered Robert B. Warnock III to pay back $515,000 to Wells Fargo. Wells had sought $400,000 in damages plus interest when it filed its arbitration claim in August 2023.
Warnock was a bank branch advisor for Wells Fargo before leaving in 2022 for Arkadios Capital, an independent broker-dealer in Dunwoody, Georgia. Wells had given Warnock an $833,000 bonus in 2016 for meeting revenue targets and other goals for four consecutive years. Brokers had to remain at the firm for at least a decade for the loan to be fully forgiven, and Wells asserted that Warnock had to repay the unvested balance of the money when he left the firm.
In the arbitration, Warnock said he had become disgruntled at Wells Fargo for a number of reasons, including the fact that he had been a bank-based financial planner and advisor, but that foot traffic to the branch was declining. Warnock wanted to become re-classified by Wells “to a different broker designation, with more scope in finding and developing his business.” He said the firm did not re-classify him, adding that he would not have left had he been able to transfer.
In ruling against Warnock, the FINRA arbitrator cited the contractual terms of the bonus he had received. “The evidence of record shows that Respondent Warnock willingly executed the Note, for good reasons, and understood its terms,” the arbitrator wrote. The award states that Warnock owes Wells Fargo $469,000 on the bonus payment, which includes interest, and $43,000 for the firm’s legal fees.
According to AdvisorHub, Warnock sued Wells in 2023, contending its bid to claw back the money from the payments represents retaliation for his whistleblowing activities. The case was stayed pending arbitration, and the arbitrator said he did not make any decisions regarding those allegations.
Warnock’s lawyer, William Carlisle in Flowery Branch, Georgia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Wells Fargo spokesperson said the firm was pleased with the outcome.
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