Former Morgan Stanley and UBS Financial Broker Barred by FINRA for Financial Abuse of an Elderly Customer

Former Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (Morgan Stanley) and UBS Financial Services, Inc. (UBS) broker John Anthony Waszolek, of Scottsdale, Arizona, submitted an Offer of Settlement in which he consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that he took unfair financial advantage of an 81-year-old customer who had twice been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and suffered from dementia and memory loss. According to FINRA, John Waszolek (Waszolek) was informed by an estate planning attorney that she would not amend the elderly client’s trust to make Waszolek a beneficiary because it had been determined that the client lacked sufficient testamentary capacity. However, through a separate attorney, Maszolek gained appointment as successor trustee and residual beneficiary of the client’s trust. Upon the elderly client’s death, FINRA found that Waszolek attempted to inherit more than $1.8 million from the estate.

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