FINRA fined and suspended former Edward Jones and Raymond James Financial Services broker Mitchell Glenn Behm of Colorado for taking a $180,000 loan from an elderly customer at the firm in order to purchase a vacation home from the client. FINRA also accused Behm of willfully failing to timely disclose a 2009 filing of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition.
The findings state that Behm (CRD #2828588) sought to purchase a vacation home from an elderly client of his at Edward Jones's Denver branch for $180,000. In lieu of immediate payment, Behm purportedly took out a $180,000 loan from the customer without prior written notice to or permission from the firm. Had he sought permission from the firm, he would have run into an Edward Jones policy that prohibits loans with customers.
On top of the unauthorized loan, FINRA found that Behm willfully failed to disclose a bankruptcy petition filing, and continued to falsely attest on industry forms that he had not filed a bankruptcy petition for five years after the filing, even though he had. Investigators also concluded that Behm falsely represented on a compliance questionnaire that he had not filed for bankruptcy when he had, in fact, filed.
The findings state that Behm continually answered "no" to the bankruptcy petition question 24 times from his 2009 bankruptcy filing until he first disclosed the filing on February 19, 2014.
Behm joined Raymond James Financial in Lakewood, CO two days after resigning from Edward Jones in January 2016.
A settled customer dispute from July 2016 in Behm's BrokerCheck report indicates a $45,969 settlement over allegations that Behm provided "poor financial advice in August 2013 to add an income rider" on a Lincoln variable annuity.
If you have invested with ex-Edward Jones and Raymond James broker Mitchell Glenn Behm, or with any representative or financial adviser who has taken out a loan from you in contravention of firm policy and industry rules, or whose false representations and failure to disclose material facts (such as a bankruptcy protection filing) that would be relevant to establishing creditworthiness in regards to such a loan have proven harmful to your investments or interests, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.