Finra bars two brokers, including one with nearly 40 years in the industry

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. has barred two veteran brokers, one of whom was in the securities industry for nearly 40 years. ​ Stephen T. Hurtuk worked as a broker for 39 years, the last 10 of which he spent at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. He left Stifel in 2017. Finra barred Mr. Hurtuk after he declined to participate in an investigation into potentially unsuitable recommendations he allegedly made to eight customers. According to BrokerCheck, Mr. Hurtuk had eight total disclosure events over the course of his career, seven of which were while he was at Stifel. Mr. Hurtek began his career at Merrill Lynch in 1978 and worked there for 23 years before moving to Citigroup for six years, and then to Stifel, according to BrokerCheck. In August 2009, he filed for bankruptcy, according to BrokerCheck. The second broker to be barred, Juergen Weber, spent 23 years in the securities industry, the last seven of which were at Benjamin & Jerold Brokerage I. He was discharged from the firm in July for allegedly making unsuitable recommendations and executing unauthorized trades. After he declined to be interviewed by Finra during its investigation into the allegations and his termination, he was barred. He told Finra he planned on retiring from the securities industry. Mr. Weber began his career at Prudential Securities in 1995 and worked there for eight years, according to BrokerCheck. He also worked at Wachovia Securities, where he was terminated in 2005 for allegedly making unauthorized trades, according to BrokerCheck. He also worked at A.G. Edwards and Avalon Partners before moving to Benjamin & Jerold, according to BrokerCheck. In 2008, while at Avalon Partners Mr. Weber was suspended by Finra for three months and fined $10,000 for allegedly executing unauthorized trades. Neither Mr. Hurtuk nore Mr. Weber could be reached for comment.