FINRA: Advisor Must Pay $200K Back to Morgan

A former Morgan Stanley advisor must pay the firm nearly $200,000 in owed bonuses, attorney fees and filing fees related to dispute hearings, a FINRA arbitration panel ruled.

Paul G. McCutchen III was with Morgan Stanley for two years out of The Kelley Group offices in Fayetteville, Ark., when he was terminated last July, according to the arbitration filing and FINRA broker records.

No reason for the termination was provided in the award filing. Morgan Stanley filed a breach of promissory note claim against McCutchen on Oct. 2, 2013.

The arbitration panel noted that the claim arose out of McCutchen’s “alleged failure to repay sums due claimants upon his termination of employment.”

The panel in Little Rock, Ark., ruled that McCutchen owed Morgan $172,706 for the promissory note, plus $6,670.81 in interest, in addition to Morgan’s $18,353 in attorney’s fees and $2,250 in hearing fees.

A Morgan Stanley spokeswoman said the firm had no comment.

Denny Sumpter, McCutchen’s attorney in the arbitration proceedings, declined to comment on the ruling. McCutchen joined Edward Jones the same month he left Morgan.

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