Finra suspends former Merrill Lynch broker for impersonating client

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. has suspended a former Merrill Lynch broker for impersonating a client. Luke A. Eddy joined Merrill Lynch in Worcester, Mass., in 2014. According to Finra, he was terminated in June 2017 for impersonating an elderly client in a phone call with internal personnel and forging her signature on documents. Mr. Eddy was attempting to help the daughter of a client with dementia transfer funds from the mother's individual retirement account to her bank account, for medical expenses, in April 2017. Merrill Lynch rejected the transfer because it was requested by the client's daughter. While the daughter had submitted a power of attorney to Mr. Eddy when she first opened the account for her mother, Merrill Lynch never received a copy and did not have it on file. To process the transfer, Mr. Eddy posed as the client in a recorded phone call with Merrill Lynch, which suspected the impersonation and did not fulfill the request. One week later, Mr. Eddy forged his client's signature on a distribution form and the firm submitted about $3,400 to the client's bank account. For violating Finra rules by impersonating a customer, Mr. Eddy has received a three-month suspension and a $5,000 fine. (More: Ex-Wells Fargo broker suspended for coaching client to lie about excessive commissions)