FINRA Bars Vanderbilt Securities Broker for Excessive Trading

Mark Kaplan, a former registered representative with Vanderbilt Securities, submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in which he was permanently barred from association with any FINRA member firm in all capacities.  Mark Kaplan, of Merrick, New York, was found by FINRA to have engaged in excessive trading in his customer’s accounts. His customer, a 93-year-old man with dementia, allegedly suffered trading losses of approximately $723,000. According to FINRA, Mr. Kaplan used his de facto control over his customer’s accounts to excessively trade in a manner that was inconsistent with his customer’s objectives, financial goals, and risk tolerances.  FINRA found that Mr. Kaplan effected more than 3,500 transactions is his customer’s accounts.  This excessive and unsuitable trading resulted in nearly $723,000 in trading losses for his customer, and generated approximately $735,000 in commissions and markups for Mr. Kaplan and Morgan Stanley.  Without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, Mark Kaplan consented to the sanctions.

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