Wells Fargo Broker Aaron Parthemer – Can “Play” No More
The alleged owner of popular Miami hip hop venue “Club Play” can no longer play in the securities industry. Aaron Parthemer consented to a ban from the industry after being charged by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) with several violations of industry rules. Regulators claim that Parthemer failed to disclose outside business activities and private loan transactions with clients. There are no allegations, however, of investment fraud or improprieties with client funds.
Parthemer had been in the securities industry for 21 years including stints at Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and most recently, Wells Fargo. In recent years he has become a well-known socialite who, according to InvestmentNews, attracted several professional football and basketball players as clients. A photo in InvestmentNews shows him with two rappers.
According to the complaint, eight professional athletes loaned up to $3 million in side deals and investments involving Aaron Parthemer.
Securities regulations require stockbrokers to disclose all outside business activities. Brokers are also prohibited from engaging in private investment deals with clients without their firm’s permission. The rules are designed to avoid future problems if a loan or investment goes bad. Brokerage firms can often be held responsible for a broker’s outside business activity.
FINRA claims that when they began investigating Parthemer, he lied and denied having outside business activities. He also allegedly lied to both Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley. In consenting to the industry bar, Parthemer did not admit any guilt or wrongdoing.
We recently successfully resolved several claims relating to outside business activities of other stockbrokers. If a customer thinks they were dealing with the broker’s employer or that the employer sanctioned the investment activities, the employer can be held responsible for any losses even if it had no idea what was happening. For that reason, regulators take unreported business activities and “trading away” cases quite seriously.
If you loaned money to a stockbroker or investment adviser or lost money because of a bad investment, you may be able to get back your hard earned money. Most cases can be handled by arbitration and on a contingent or “success” fee basis. For more information, contact attorney Brian Mahany at or by telephone at (414) 704-6731 (direct).
MahanyLaw – America’s Fraud Recovery Lawyers.