On December 22, 2014, FINRA announced that Jeffrey C. McClure has been permanently barred from the securities industry. Mr. McClure, allegedly, wrote himself 36 checks totaling $88,850 drawn from the customer’s bank account, without her knowledge. Through its investigation, FINRA found that from December 2012 to Agust 2014, McClure had access to the checks because the elderly customer had authorized him to pay her rent and other expenses; instead, he deposited the checks amounting to nearly $89,000 to his personal bank account and used the funds for his personal expenses. At the time, Mr. McClure worked for Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC. The affiliated bank that held the accounts, located in Chico, California, has made the customer whole for her losses.
In settling this matter, Mr. McClure neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of FINRA’s findings. FINRA’s investigation was conducted by the Office of Fraud Detection and Market Intelligence and the Department of Enforcement. In a statement, FINRA’s Executive Vice President and Chief of Enforcement, said “FINRA has a zero tolerance policy for brokers who steal form their clients, especially those who are most vulnerable. Rooting out this type of misconduct and removing these kinds of bad actors from the industry is a top priority.”