A rep formerly registered with the brokerage arm of People's United Bank has agreed to a one-year suspension and a $5,000 fine to settle charges that he tried to evade federal reporting requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act, according to his settlement with FINRA.
The regulator accused Matthew Carvell of intentionally "structuring" 10 cash deposits totaling $50,000 in five personal bank accounts in amounts under the currency transaction reporting threshold of $10,000.
Under the Bank Secrecy Act, banks and broker-dealers are required to file currency transaction reports for all transactions in currency exceeding $10,000, FINRA explained in the settlement.
FINRA scolded Carvell for violating the law by "structuring his cash deposits in his personal bank accounts in a manner designed to evade the banks' federal reporting requirements."
FINRA alleged that Carvell was aware of the requirements as he had received training on the matter.
Carvell worked for People's Securities in Bridgeport, Connecticut, from June 2014 to October 2015, when he was permitted to resign over the structuring allegations, according to Brokercheck records. He also worked for People's United Bank, beginning in June 2012.
"I did not attempt to structure deposits to avoid disclosing my cash position from the government, nor was that my intention," he wrote in a statement on his BrokerCheck report. "I simply wanted to keep a private matter private."
In his statement, Carvell explained that he had been keeping assets at his home to protect them from private loan repayment garnishment as a result of his wife's student debt. He claimed being unaware that the deposits "would be deemed as unethical or break any bank regulations."
Carvell did not return phone messages left at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, where is employed as a branch manager. In this settlement with FINRA, he neither admitted nor denied the charges but consented to an entry of the regulator's findings.
People's did not respond to an email seeking comment on Carvell's suspension.
Carvell got off easy as others have been barred for similar violations.
