Merrill Fires Advisor For Allegedly Using Client's Credit Card

FINRA has barred former Merrill Lynch advisor Dylan P. Grayson from the industry for allegedly using a client's credit card for personal purchases, the industry's self-regulatory organization says.

Reached at his home in Houston, Grayson says the allegation is without merit.

"It was an allegation that was never proved," he says. "I decided it was in my best interest just to move on."

Grayson began his career in the industry with Citigroup in Houston in 2007, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records. He subsequently worked for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, also in Houston, as well as for Ameriprise in Sugarland, Tex., before moving to Merrill.

NO COOPERATION WITH FINRA

Grayson consented to the permanent bar after deciding not to cooperate with FINRA investigators in the case.

His prior disciplinary record also includes allegations that he handled a customer complaint without notifying his firm and engaged in unapproved outside business activities, according to BrokerCheck. These two charges were posted in March.

In a complaint posted in June, a client claimed to have suffered $7,000 in damages as a result of wire transfers Grayson made without authorization, the report says. Merrill settled that complaint for $7,000.

Grayson did not immediately respond to questions pertaining to the other three disciplinary matters. A spokeswoman for Bank of America, Merrill's parent would have no comment.

Grayson says he has left the financial services industry and is planning to switch careers. "I'm still trying to work through that," he says.

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