Insurance rep locks horns with FINRA, SEC

Putting clients’ insurance premium payments in the wrong account can land you in hot water, as one U.S.-based agent learned when FINRA came knocking.

Read: N.Y. attorney general investigating spoofing on FX options markets

Keilen Dimone Wiley had placed client premium payments in personal and business accounts, withdrawing money for his own use. When his carrier, Farmers, announced an audit, he transferred money over to his Farmers account to ensure the amounts he owed the insurer were in place. Wiley ended up finding himself on the wrong side of a FINRA complaint.

From FINRA’s decision: “In the course of the audit, Wiley admitted that he had used premiums to meet personal needs, and followed up with an e-mail to his manager explaining why he had done so. However, a year later, testifying at a FINRA on-the-record interview, Wiley denied making personal use of the funds.”

Wiley appealed and lost, so he took his case to the SEC. He lost again. Click here to read New York-based securities lawyer Bill Singer’s discussion of why.

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Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.