FINRA Bars Former Transamerica Broker
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has permanently barred former Transamerica broker, Mark Smith, for refusing to appear for on-the-record testimony as requested by the regulator.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred former Transamerica broker, Mark Smith, for refusing to appear for on-the-record testimony as requested by the regulator.
Smith spent nine years with Transamerica prior to his resignation in July 2021. The day after filing a termination notice with FINRA, Transamerica amended the form to disclose that it “received information of [Smith’s] possible involvement in an unauthorized transaction in a client’s personal checking account.”
FINRA claims that Smith initially cooperated with its investigation, but later refused to appear for on-the-record testimony at any time.
According to Smith’s BrokerCheck profile, shortly after leaving Transamerica, two customers filed disputes against him that were later closed with no action taken. One client claimed that she invested $20,000 in a “crypto deal,” where Smith was supposed to return her funds by February 22, 2021, but at the time of the filing, she had only received $5,000 of the total. Another client alleged that Smith signed her name on variable annuity applications.
Smith consented to FINRA’s sanction without admitting or denying the findings.
