Florida Financial Advisor Fined, Suspended for Unauthorized Trading
Steven Michael Roffman (CRD#: 1673527) is a registered FINRA broker. Since 2016, Mr. Roffman has been employed at IFS Securities in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to that, Mr. Roffman was also associated with several broker-dealers in Florida, including Ameriprise Financial Services, Raymond James & Associates, Morgan Keegan & Company, and North Coast Securities Corporation.
In March of 2016, Steven M. Roffman was discharged by Ameriprise Financial after the compliance department learned of allegations that he engaged in unauthorized trades in the non-discretionary trading account of one of the firm’s customers. FINRA eventually launched its own inquiry into the claims of misconduct. On June 20th, 2019, Mr. Roffman was sanctioned by FINRA — the agency suspended him for 45 days and ordered him to pay a $7,500 fine.
FINRA Sanctions: Steven Michael Roffman Formerly of Ameriprise Financial
The Allegations
After Steven M. Roffman was terminated from his position at a Florida-based branch office of Ameriprise Financial, securities regulators initiated an investigation into allegations that he engaged in misconduct. Between September 15th of 2015 and September 30th of 2015, Mr. Roffman allegedly purchased and sold shares of securities on behalf of an Ameriprise Financial investor without obtaining proper authorization. As a result, the investor suffered financial losses. Financial advisors must always obtain proper authorization before making a securities transaction on behalf of an investor. As a general matter, there are two primary ways advisors can obtain authorization:
- With a discretionary brokerage account, advisors can make trades that are consistent with a client’s objectives without obtaining authorization for each individual transaction.
- With a non-discretionary brokerage account, advisors must get authorization for each and every individual trade. Failure to do so is a violation of industry regulations.
In this case, FINRA alleges that Mr. Roffman failed to obtain the proper authorization from the Ameriprise Financial Services customer. The customer in question had a non-discretionary investment account with the broker-dealer.
The Penalties
Without admitting to or denying any wrongdoing, Steven Michael Roffman consented to findings from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and accepted that agency’s proposed penalties. As a starting point, Mr. Roffman agreed to accept a 45-day suspension from the securities industry — this suspension will run from July 15th of 2019 to August 28th of 2019.
In addition to those sanctions, Mr. Roffman also agreed to pay a $7,500 civil fine and he agreed to pay full financial restitution to the affected investors. Complete details regarding the allegations and disciplinary action taken by the agency can be reviewed by referring to FINRA Disciplinary Action NO. 2016049686501.
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Resources:
finra.org/sites/default/files/fda_documents/2016049686501%20Steven%20M.%20Roffman%20CRD%201673527%20AWC%20sl.pdf
brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/1673527
