FINRA has barred former Cetera Advisors LLC broker Walter Morrow Allen from the securities industry for refusing to provide information and documents requested pursuant to FINRA Rule 8210, in violation of FINRA Rules 8210 and 2010.
If you have lost money with Walter Morrow Allen, or Cetera Advisors LLC, contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.
FINRA Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2020066785901
Walter Morrow Allen and FINRA entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”) on August 4, 2021.
According to the AWC, in May 2020, Cetera Advisors, filed a Form U5 disclosing that it had terminated Morrow Allen on April 27, 2020 and stating that he had “executed trades in non-discretionary accounts without written client authorization in violation of the firm’s policies and procedures.”
On June 22, 2021, pursuant to FINRA Rule 8210, FINRA sent a request to Morrow Allen for the production of information and documents by July 13, 2021.
On June 30, 2021, Morrow Allen indicated to FINRA that he had received FINRA’s request and would not produce the requested information and documents at any time. By refusing to produce the information and documents as requested pursuant to FINRA Rule 8210, Morrow Allen violated FINRA Rules 8210 and 2010.
Non-Discretionary Accounts
Non-discretionary accounts are accounts in which the customer retains discretion and makes decisions about each trade, and a broker must first obtain the customer’s permission before executing a trade. A broker who executes unauthorized trades in a customer’s account violates FINRA rules. Learn more about unauthorized trading.
FINRA Rules 8210 and 2010
FINRA Rule 8210 states, in relevant part, that FINRA has the right to require a “person subject to FINRA’s jurisdiction to provide information orally, in writing, or electronically … with respect to any matter involved in the investigation, complaint, examination, or proceeding.”
FINRA Rule 8210 also specifies that “[n]o member or person shall fail to provide information or testimony … pursuant to this Rule.” A failure to provide information and/or testimony requested by FINRA pursuant to Rule 8210 violates Rule 8210.
Conduct that violates FINRA Rule 8210 also violates FINRA Rule 2010, which requires associated persons to “observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade.”
Walter Morrow Allen (CRD#: 1344149)
Walter Morrow Allen has 35 years of experience in the securities industry and was registered as a broker with Cetera Advisors LLC in Suffield, CT between October 3, 2016 and May 28, 2020.
How to Recover Losses or Obtain a Free Consultation
If you have lost money with Walter Morrow Allen, or Cetera Advisors LLC, contact New York securities arbitration lawyer Jorge Altamirano of Iorio Altamirano LLP at jorge@ia-law.com or toll-free at (855) 430-4010 for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.
Iorio Altamirano LLP is a securities arbitration law firm based in New York, NY. We pursue FINRA arbitration claims nationwide on behalf of investors to recover financial losses arising out of wrongful conduct by financial advisors and brokerage firms.