A 90-year-old Morgan Stanley broker has been accused of shooting a colleague multiple times in an Oklahoma City branch office, according to local news reports.
Police say Leonard Bernstein walked into the office last Thursday and shot Chris Bayouth, 61, several times before driving away. Bernstein was later arrested in a traffic stop and charged with shooting with intent to kill, police records show.
Witnesses told investigators that Bernstein and Bayouth had worked together for nine months and that the elderly man was handing his accounts to the younger business partner, a local news channel reported. It’s unclear what went wrong, police said.
Bayouth was rushed to a local hospital and is expected to survive.
Bernstein joined Morgan Stanley in 2021 after nine years with Wells Fargo Clearing Services, BrokerCheck records show. He first registered as a broker in 1994 with Morgan Stanley before moving to Citigroup Global markets in 2004. He returned to Morgan Stanley in 2007 and was part of a $1.1 billion team that moved to Wells Fargo in 2012.
Bernstein’s BrokerCheck record shows no disciplinary actions, discharges or investor complains in his 28-year career.
He was terminated by Morgan Stanley on Friday, a spokesperson for the firm said.
“We are cooperating with the authorities and our thoughts are with our employee,” the spokesperson said.
Bayouth has been registered with the Oklahoma City branch office since 2009, and has been with Morgan Stanley since 1997. Before that, he spent two years with Capital West Securities and six years with Stifel.
The financial advice industry has been facing inquiries into its cash sweep programs for years now.
Investor money allegedly went to strip clubs, exotic cars, and landscaping
Procyon adds $415 million in assets under management in New Jersey while Savant picks up a $213 million Southern California planning firm
With a growing number of real estate-rich Baby Boomers aging into retirement, some advisors may be failing to consider all the options available for those clients' assets.
Cornerstone Advisors study reveals compliance bottlenecks stall campaigns weeks after customer opportunities close.
As AI makes financial information more accessible than ever, Lana Hock explains why human judgment, trust, and empathy remain the qualities clients value most in a financial advisor
Northern Trust’s Ken Lassner shows advisors how to convert volatility into after-tax portfolio gains
