FINRA Suspends and Fines Former LPL Rep for Falsifying Client Signatures

A former LPL Financial representative, Patrick Keith Sloan, has been fined by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for falsifying signatures and making trades without permission from LPL or its customers.

According to a FINRA letter of acceptance, waiver, and consent, from February to December 2020, Sloan electronically signed, with prior client permission, a total of seven documents, four account applications, a move money form, an account transfer form and an opt-in for electronic prospectuses and shareholder communications. He signed on behalf of five customers, two of which were seniors. LPL’s policies and procedures prohibited signing a customer’s name or initials regardless of the customer’s knowledge or consent. Sloan also falsely attested in a December 2020 compliance questionnaire that he had not signed or affixed another person’s signature on a document.

FINRA says that from September 2018 to February 2021, Sloan exercised discretion in approximately 70 trades in the accounts of four customers without prior written authority from the customer or approval from LPL. Although Sloan made the trades pursuant to an investment strategy agreed to by the customers, Sloan did not have written authorization from the customers, or permission from LPL, to exercise discretion in the accounts. No customer complained regarding Sloan’s trades and Sloan did not receive any commissions from the trading. In 2018, 2019 and 2020 compliance questionnaires, Sloan falsely stated that he had not exercised discretionary authority over any brokerage accounts.

According to BrokerCheck, prior to joining LPL in 2017, where he remained until his termination in February 2021 when the allegations when the unauthorized activities were discovered, Sloan worked at Investment Centers of America Inc. from 2015 to 2017. Sloan is not currently affiliated with a FINRA member.

Sloan consented to a three-month suspension from associating with any FINRA member in all capacities and a $10,000 fine.

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