FINRA Suspends Fired Merrill Lynch Broker Accused of “Improperly Applying” for SBA Loan
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has suspended Evelyn Batista, a former Merrill Lynch registered representative who reportedly made “reckless misrepresentations” in a federal loan application.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has suspended Evelyn Batista, a former Merrill Lynch registered representative who reportedly made “reckless misrepresentations” in a loan application submitted to the Small Business Administration to obtain an economic injury disaster loan.
In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government initiated several programs to assist small businesses.
FINRA claims that Batista authorized a “casual acquaintance,” who she met at a party, to complete the application on her behalf from her cell phone. The regulator said that Batista “recklessly misrepresented” that she was the owner of a property management real estate business that had been in existence since December 2018. She purportedly claimed that the business earned $35,000 between January 2019 and January 2020 and had lost $15,000 in rental income due to the pandemic.
FINRA said that Batista did not review the application before she electronically signed and submitted it to the Small Business Administration, nor did she review the program requirements to determine her eligibility.
Batista, then a registered representative of Merrill Lynch with no disclosed outside business activities, did not own a property management real estate business or have any other business eligible for the federal loan, FINRA alleged.
While she had reportedly made plans to rent out a room in her house through an online vacation rental company, including receiving information from the company concerning the estimated rental value of her room, she did not list the room for rent prior to January 2020.
The Small Business Administration approved the loan application and sent Batista $17,500. After she was terminated from Merrill Lynch, she repaid the loan with interest.
FINRA suspended Batista for seven months, and no monetary sanctions were imposed due to her financial status. She accepted the sanctions without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings.
According to her BrokerCheck profile, Batista spent a year at Merrill Lynch before being fired for the alleged conduct.
