FINRA suspended former Thrivent Investment Management, Inc. broker Bruce R Geiger of Visalia, California for falsifying over 100 forms, subsequently causing the inappropriate disbursement of client funds over a five-year period. The settlement states that products affected by Geiger's misconduct include annuity contracts and life insurance settlements options, as well as distributions and associated withdrawals and transfers.
FINRA OHO Settlement #2011026440401
According to the findings, Geiger's misconduct, which began in 2005, affected at least 14 customer accounts and manifested in Geiger's alteration of forms by adding dates to customer signatures, re-using original customer signature pages that had previously been executed for earlier transactions, and altering the dates attached to the signatures. FINRA wrote that on occasion, Geiger also erased prior dates and wrote in new ones on 114 Annuity/Settlement Option Withdrawal Service Request and Values Distribution Request forms.
Investigators said that to facilitate the erase-and-replace misconduct, Geiger used pencil on these forms, rather than pen ink.
The OHO decision found that "on several occasions," Thrivent issued a series of directives and guidance documents reminding its representatives that "documents cannot be altered in any matter" and that submitting such an altered document violated firm procedures as well as industry rules.
The investigation states that Geiger was specifically reminded not to violate these policies—and not to use pencil while completing forms—in 2005 and again in 2008, but Geiger nonetheless continued the misconduct until leaving the firm in late 2010.
According to his BrokerCheck report, Geiger remains associated with Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., also of Visalia.
If you have invested with Bruce R. Geiger or with any broker or financial adviser whose falsification or unauthorized alteration of documents has proven harmful to your financial interests, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for investigation and consultation.