Finra bars J.P. Morgan rep fired for improper account access

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. has barred former J.P. Morgan Securities broker Ricardo Rodriguez-Stern for failing to appear at a hearing looking into customer complaints against him. Mr. Rodriguez-Stern was fired by the J.P. Morgan in January 2016 because he "accessed a client's account in order to contact them [sic] for personal reasons," Finra said in a report on an enforcement proceeding. After his termination, Finra's enforcement department opened an investigation into Mr. Rodriguez-Stern's potential failure to disclose in a timely manner 10 unsatisfied tax liens and civil judgments filed between 2006 and 2013 on his Form U4. The enforcement department also planned to investigate the circumstances surrounding 12 customer complaints against him, Finra said. Mr. Rodriguez-Stern began his securities career in 2003 at American Capital Partners. He moved to Merrill Lynch in 2006, to American Capital Partners in 2007 and to Gunn Allen in 2008. Later that year, he moved to AXA Advisors. In 2010, he joined Chase Investment Services, which changed its name to J.P. Morgan Securities in 2012.