[ by Melanie Gretchen ] A Series 7 broker in the West Palm Beach office of Minneapolis-based Ameriprise Financial, agreed to a $2,500 fine and 15-day suspension to settle FINRA charges he had commingled customer funds with his own funds, violating firm policies and FINRA Rule 2010. Broker's Financial Career. John Sullivan joined Ameriprise in July 2008 and by April 2010 he had been terminated.  Since then, Sullivan has not been associated with a FINRA member firm. FINRA Findings and Allegations. Throughout his time at Ameriprise, Sullivan serviced the account of an elderly customer.  [C-I Note: This being Florida, it's quite possible that this elderly customer had few friends or family members on whom he could rely for financial guidance.  Yet, John Sullivan served this customer professionally and treated him well, looking out for the customer's welfare.] That said, sometimes the best of intentions can still get one into "hot water" and that was just what happened. In January 2010, the customer asked Sullivan to help him in paying his personal and medical bills.  In response to the customer's request and explicit authorization, Sullivan opened a non-brokerage online account for the customer outside of Ameriprise and transferred $1,840 from the Ameriprise account to this outside non-brokerage online account. Later in January, with the customer's knowledge and consent, Sullivan transferred $425 from RS's outside non-brokerage online account to Sullivan's own personal outside non-brokerage online account.  On or about 4/1/10, Sullivan transferred the customer's $425 back to the customer's brokerage account at Ameriprise. At no time did Sullivan tell the firm what he was doing.  Nor did he seek the firm's prior written approval.  That would be his downfall. FINRA Sanctions. For having commingled customer funds with his own, Sullivan violated a prohibition at Ameriprise (and every other firm).  Sullivan took a significant hit for extending a helping hand to a person in need - an act that appears to have been genuinely gallant.  Yet, not only was he suspended for 15 days and fined $2,500, but he lost his job at Ameriprise.

[C-I Note: In reading this case, we felt it a shame that a broker had to go behind his firm's backs to help someone in need, even though it ran afoul to firm policy.  It's doubtful that, had Sullivan requested prior permission for these actions his request would have been summarily rejected - at which point he would have proceeded doing what he did in the first place.

Why, we ask, would it not have been possible for Sullivan and the firm to devise alternative procedures and controls that would have enabled him to provide the needed assistance to the customer.  The answer, more often than not, is that any sort of change is unwelcomed - especially if, in this case, the branch manager had nothing personally at stake - then it would be easy to simply say "no" and walk away. That's wrong, in our opinion.  But others would disagree with our 'humanitarian' efforts as an unnecessary conflict of interest with business matters.]

So, we agree to disagree in this matter. For more details, go to [FINRA AWC# 2010022365001].