FINRA barred former HSBC Securities USA, Inc. broker Gehrin Michael Ortiz of Pasadena, California, for failing to cooperate with an investigation into allegations that Ortiz failed to disclose material information on the Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer form U4.
The U4 is essentially a broker-provided background check document and failure to disclose or provide accurate responses to its questions is against industry rules. From the form's instructions, "Filers must answer all questions and submit all requested information...[and are] under a continuing obligation to amend and update information required by Form U4."
According to his BrokerCheck report, HSBC Securities discharged Ortiz in 2014 for failing to comply with an arbitration reward or to satisfactorily respond to FINRA's request for an update as to the status of compliance as to the award. FINRA had previously issued Ortiz a six-month suspension for failing to comply with the arbitration award.
According to his registration history, Ortiz was previously associated with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's Woodland Hills, CA branch from 2010 to 2012, and served with Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC in Westlake Village from 2008 to 2010.
In 2011, a Morgan Stanley customer reached settlement over a dispute alleging misrepresentation in accounts managed by Ortiz. According to the settlement, the customer, who had sought $13,651 in damages, was awarded $13,500.
If you have invested with Gehrin Michael Ortiz or with any broker, financial adviser or firm whose failure to include material information on industry forms, such as the U4, has resulted in a misleading or inaccurate portrayal of the broker's history—such as an incomplete BrokerCheck or similar report—and this omission or misleading information has proven harmful to your investments or interests, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for investigation and consultation.