Finra bars veteran broker for creating false account statements

A multiyear scheme of creating false account statements has resulted in veteran broker Clayton Wertz being permanently barred from the industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. According to Finra, Mr. Wertz, who worked in the brokerage industry since 1998, was creating false brokerage account statements from March 2010 to October 2016, then again from September 2018 to January 2019 to help a client secure and maintain a multimillion dollar bank loan and line of credit. Mr. Wertz started creating the false statements when he worked at Southwest Securities from 2008 to 2012. He continued the process when he moved to Aspen Equity Partners, where he worked from 2012 to 2015, and then to First Financial Equity Corp., where he worked from 2015 to 2016. According to Finra Brokercheck, Mr. Wertz was out of the industry for almost two years before joining First Canterbury Securities in 2019. He was officially barred from the industry on Sept. 11, 2019. [More:​ Finra bars fomer Allstate broker for using employee's IRA money] According to Finra, in early 2010 Mr. Wertz created a false account statement for a client that showed approximately $2 million worth of securities even though the account for the client and longtime friend was never funded. The false account statement was presented to a bank in March 2010 and used to secure a loan of more than $1.8 million. [Recommended video:​ Michael Kitces: Efficiencies become crucial for advice firms when they grow] According to Finra, Mr. Wertz received $10,000 from the client's brother along with a promise that more funds would be invested with the broker in the future. Mr. Wertz created false monthly account statements that were provided to the bank, for which he received an additional $40,000 from the client and his brother, who were trying to finance a business venture, according to Finra. The false account statements enabled the client and his brother to borrow additional loans and extend the credit line, on which they ultimately defaulted, resulting in a bank loss of more than $3.2 million, according to Finra.