Three former J.P. Morgan registered reps joined a growing roster of J.P. Morgan alumni suspended and fined by FINRA since January.
Paul DeFilippis, a former personal banker at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank in Oak Park, Ill., was suspended for two years and fined $5,000 for allegedly withdrawing funds from a banking and brokerage customer's account and depositing those funds into his own account at a rival bank.
As FINRA tells it, DeFilippis' client, an elderly man around 90 years old, began withdrawing money from his banking and securities accounts and giving it to a younger woman who had a criminal record. To conserve his assets, DeFilippis allegedly arranged for a friend to serve as a co-trustee, along with the customer, for the customer's accounts.
DeFilippis, however, grew concerned when the customer closed his securities account in October of 2013 and deposited approximately $264,500 into a trust account that DeFilippis helped him establish at the bank. Worried that the client was giving more money to the woman, DeFilippis purportedly arranged with the customer's consentfor the co-trustee to remove $264,000 from the bank account to hold elsewhere. The co-trustee withdrew $262,000 in the form of a cashier's check made out to DeFilippis and gave $2,000 in cash to the client. DeFilppis deposited the check into an account he opened in his name at another bank and named the customer as the death beneficiary.
DeFilippis did not respond to an email sent to him via BrightScope Advisor Pages, an online directory for financial advisors. He could not otherwise be reached for comment. In his settlement with FINRA, he neither admitted nor denied the charges but consented to an entry of FINRA's findings.
According to his BrokerCheck report, DeFilippis was discharged from the bank in October of 2013 for depositing and accepting the cashier's check. He was registered first with Chase Investment Services Corp. and then with J.P. Morgan Securities.
Suspended for Outside Business Activity
In addition to DeFilippis, FINRA slammed Gary Dennis, a former New York City employee of J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, with a five-month suspension and $10,000 fine for engaging in outside business activity. In April of 2013, Dennis allegedly assisted a bank customer by processing an application for the customer's limited liability company in exchange for $500, violating rules that prohibit outside business endeavors without prior written notice from the firm.
Dennis denied his actions, both verbally and in writing, FINRA said.
According to FINRA, Dennis was registered first with Chase Investment Services Corp. and then with J.P. Morgan Securities. He was fired from J.P. Morgan Chase Bank in June of 2013.
Dennis, who is now currently employed at Transamerica Financial Advisors, did not return a voice message or email message seeking comment. In his settlement with FINRA, Dennis neither admitted nor denied the allegations but consented to an entry of FINRA's findings.
Four-Month Suspension for Check Kiting
Lastly, FINRA reprimanded Shannon S. Hampton, a former rep registered in Shreveport, La. Hampton was suspended for four months for allegedly engaging in a check kiting-scheme involving three checking accounts she maintained at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, a regional bank and a federal credit union. According to FINRA, she deposited two checks totaling $2,675 into her Chase checking account drawn on two of her personal checking accounts, knowing they did not have sufficient funds to cover them. She deposited the checks, FINRA asserts, "to benefit temporarily from the 'float' on the checks and to derive the use and benefit of the funds from the time they were credited to her account until other funds were deposited into the accounts."
Hampton did not respond to an email sent to her via BrightScope Advisor Pages. In her settlement with FINRA, she neither admitted nor denied the charges but consented to an entry of FINRA's findings.
According to BrokerCheck, Hampton was fired from J.P. Morgan Chase Bank in December of 2012 for "depositing checks without sufficient funds available."
Michael Fusco, a spokesperson for Chase Wealth Management, declined to comment on Hampton, Dennis and DeFilippis.
The three join former
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