FINRA barred Merrill Lynch broker Julie Ann Mineard of the firm's Seattle branch for a series of unauthorized fund disbursements and use.
In AWC #2017056673501, FINRA wrote that rep Julie Mineard aka Julie Lund (CRD #3230787)'s responsibilities at Merrill Lynch included processing disbursements from customer accounts. With such authorization, Mineard purpotedly assisted a co-worker in paying his personal bills by requesting disbursements of funds from one of his brokerage accounts at Merrill Lynch.
However, investigators found that when Mineard inputted a series of check requests for disbursement totaling $24,044 in 2017, she did so while requesting that the disbursements be made directly from the colleague's brokerage account and into Mineard's personal bank accounts.
The findings state that Mineard made the check requests without this individual's prior knowledge or authorization, and that Mineard subsequently used the funds for personal expenses and benefit.
FINRA cited Rule 2150 in its decision of conversion and misuse of customer funds, which states, "[n]o member or person associated with a member shall make improper use of a customer's securities or funds."
Merrill Lynch terminated Mineard in November 2017 over "inaccuracies regarding the Registered Representative's characterization of disbursements from an employee's account and changes made to a client account document."
If you have invested with Julie Ann Mineard (Julie A Lund) or with any broker or investment adviser who has requested disbursements, withdrawals, or otherwise effected a transfer of funds from your brokerage account into another account without authorization, or whose misappropriation or conversion of funds have proven harmful to your investments or financial interests, please call an experienced FINRA arbitration attorney at The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.