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William Ard Suspended by FINRA Following Allegations

William Ard (CRD #: 1133673), also known as Bill Ard, is the subject of a FINRA suspension. This is according to a disclosure that appears on his BrokerCheck record, accessed on October 30, 2023. Keep reading if you have questions about his alleged conduct. 

On September 22, 2023, William Ard entered into an Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent agreement in which he consented to the findings that he forwarded an email that contained promissory, unwarranted, and misleading communications to his customer about investing in a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company. The email allegedly contained predictions for the stock’s future performance in “bear” and “bull” scenarios. These hypothetical scenarios depended on the results of a drug trial, according to the AWC. 

The AWC also alleged William Ard made a false statement to the firm compliance personnel about the customer’s use of borrowed funds. The customer opened a Liquidity Access Line (LAL) account at the firm. The customer allegedly used LAL funds to purchase publicly traded stocks and options in accounts held outside of the firm. 

When firm compliance personnel asked William Ard why the customer had withdrawn funds from his LAL account, he allegedly denied knowledge of the withdrawals, even though he allegedly knew they had used the funds to make stock purchases. 

The AWC findings also state that William Ard mismarked orders as unsolicited in customers’ brokerage accounts, causing firm records to be inaccurate. He also allegedly failed to preserve communications on firm-unapproved mobile applications with customers about securities transactions. He allegedly denied he used unapproved mobile applications to communicate with customers. 

Finally, FINRA alleges William Ard prevented FINRA from obtaining relevant evidence, hindering its investigation.

As part of the terms of the AWC, William Ard consented to a four-month suspension and a $15,000 fine. 

You can see a copy of the AWC here

Customer Dispute

On October 30, 2018, investors alleged that William Ard recommended unsuitable investments from 2017 through 2018. The dispute was settled for $84,000. 

Background Information 

William Ard has passed the following exams: 

  • Series 65 Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination 
  • Series 63 Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination 
  • SIE – Securities Industry Essentials Examination 
  • Series 7 General Securities Representative Examination 

During his 38 years of experience, he has registered with five firms: 

  • Morgan Stanley (CRD #: 149777)
  • Citigroup Global Markets (CRD #: 7059) 
  • UBS Financial Services (CRD #: 8174) 
  • Wheat, First Securities (CRD #: 6124) 
  • Butcher & Singer (CRD #: 6517) 

Kurta Law Can Help

If you worked with William Ard and have concerns about your investments, please contact us today at 877-600-0098 or info@kurtalawfirm.com for a free consultation.

For over 20 years, Kurta Law has advocated on behalf of investors who want to recover their investment losses from brokers and brokerage firms. Kurta Law is a nationally recognized law firm that exclusively represents investors against brokers and brokerage firms on a contingency basis. This means that the firm only earns a fee if our securities attorneys recover money on your behalf.

 

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