The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred a former Pennsylvania broker who the regulator said lied about his alleged misconduct involving automated clearing house transfers to his personal account.
Finra said that from December 2022 to June 2023, Timothy James Breslin provided falsified bank account statements and checks in response to an investigation resulting from a Form U5 filed on October 6, 2022, by Raymond James stating that Breslin was discharged for “initiating unfunded ACH transfers to [his] personal account” and “initial lack of candor regarding same.”
Breslin, who most recently was with B. Riley Wealth Management, had been with Raymond James in Devon, Pa., since December 2015. He joined B. Riley in Bryn Mawr, Pa., a week after being fired from Raymond James only to be let go five months later when the firm became aware of Finra’s inquiry, according to Finra.
Finra said it sent a letter to Breslin in December concerning the allegations and Breslin responded that he, his brother, and a friend went on a trip and they each wrote him checks for $5,000 as reimbursements for the trip expenses, but the checks bounced when he deposited them in his account. Finra, however, said that was all a lie because Breslin “did not receive or deposit a $5,000 check from his brother or friend during the relevant period of the request.”
Breslin was asked by Finra in January to provide copies of the checks and to identify the corresponding check deposits on his bank account statements. Finra said Breslin turned over checks that had dates and amount altered and any identifiable information related to the deposits were removed. He also provided a bogus copy of his bank account statement, which listed deposits of the falsified checks, Finra said. “Specifically, Breslin inserted the three $5,000 deposits into the account statements, but the balance in Breslin’s account did not change,” Finra said.
Finra said the morning of the testimony in June, Breslin came armed with more doctored documents and turned over another bogus version of his bank account statements. Finra said the statements were altered “to inflate the running balances listed on the statements to falsely reflect deposits of the $5,000 checks he purportedly received from his brother and friend.” He also lied that “he had received and deposited checks from his brother and friend and that he had submitted genuine bank account statements and checks to Finra.”
For that, Finra said Breslin violated Finra rules 8210 and 2010, which requires brokers to observe “high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade.”
Breslin could not be reached for comment.
Breslin began working in the industry in 1998 with New England Securities. He also worked for Janney Montgomery Scott LLC for eight years and Ameriprise Financial Services for six years before moving to Raymod James, according to BrokerCheck.