A Registered Rep with Hartford Life (fka Planco Financial Services) was barred from the industry for creating and submitting a false expense report and supporting documentation.  At issue was a $500 contribution the broker made to a charity - which, in and of itself, was tax deductible.  The Rep does not disagree with FINRA's findings. The Respondent.  Chad McCartney first became registered with FINRA in late 2000 as an Investment Company and Variable Products Representative with Hartford Life.  In December 2009, he terminated his relationship with Hartford Life.  Thereafter, he joined  Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc., where he remained until 2/9/11  He no longer is associated with a broker-dealer. FINRA Findings and Allegations. In April 2006, Richard Malloy, a financial advisor with Wachovia Securities, LLC and one of McCartney's highest producing clients, asked McCartney to make a contribution to his child's private school, Triad Academy.  McCartney had known and worked with Malloy since approximately 2000, and over the years Malloy had more than once mentioned Triad Academy and the fact that his wife was actively engaged in rundraising efforts for the school.  McCartney agreed to make a contribution and wrote a personal check dated 4/6/06 for $500 payable to the order of Triad Academy.

At the time McCartney made the contribution to Triad Academy, he was allegedly disgruntled with Hartford Life's expense reimbursement policy, which he believed was unduly limited and out of step with Hartford Life's competitors.  Indeed, Hartford Life's reimbursement policy had been the subject of a discussion among a number of Hartford Life's wholesalers at a divisional meeting in early 2006.  During the meeting, Steve Leary, another wholesaler for Hartford Life, told McCartney and a group of others that he had been submitting false expense reports to get around Hartford Life's strict reimbursement policy.  Leary further explained that he used an invoice template bearing the logo of the Embassy Suites hotel chain to create false invoices.  At some point, Leary distributed the Embassy Suites template on Hartford Life's computer system and thereby made it available to McCartney.

McCartney used the Embassy Suites template to create a false invoice to obtain reimbursement of the contribution he had made to Triad Academy although he knew that it was not a reimbursable expense. McCartney created a false Embassy Suites invoice dated 4/3/06, along with numerous individualized details, including the date of the fictitious seminar, the number of people who attended, the room rental fee, food and beverages served, and sales tax. He also created a false verification letter on Wachovia Securities, LLC letterhead thanking him for holding a seminar for 27 people at a cost to McCartney of $500.  McCartney forged Malloy's signature on the fake letter;  McCartney also fabricated a fake check to submit as proof of payment with his false expense report. McCartney then submitted the false invoice, verification letter, and check to his expense processor, who prepared an expense report based on the false documentation and forwarded it to Hartford Life on McCartney's behalf.  As a result, McCartney received a $500 expense reimbursement payment from Hartford Life.   There is no evidence that Hartford Life discovered McCartney's fraud before he terminated his relationship with the company. McCartney appealed the FINRA's decision to bar him and, pending the appeal to the NAC, the sanction is not in effect. For further details, go to:   [FINRA AWC #2010023719601].    [Disciplinary Action for December 2011]