A Short Hills, N.J.-based brokerage representative and former New York Giant football player accepted a fine and suspension on Friday after allegedly misled his clients and made false statements to compliance personnel, according to Finra.
William Donovan “Billy” Ard, who had been registered as a representative through Morgan Stanley from 2009 until his termination in October 2021, accepted and consented to a $15,000 fine and a four-month suspension from associating with any Finra member, the regulator announced.
Ard, who was a guard for both the Giants and the Green Bay Packers in a professional career that spanned 11 seasons, 1981 to 1991, forwarded a promissory, unwarranted and misleading communication to a customer in May 2018 regarding investing in a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, according to a Finra letter of settlement released on Friday. Ard’s communications allegedly assured the investor that the company’s stock price would hold its current levels and rise in the future under a “worst-case” scenario.
Over a more than two-year period from April 2018 to May 2020, Finra alleges, Ard mismarked at least 49 orders as unsolicited, causing Morgan Stanley’s records to be inaccurate.
Ard also used an unapproved platform for business-related communications, which meant that Morgan Stanley could not archive those communications for compliance purposes, according to Finra.
Then, in 2020, Ard allegedly made a false statement to Morgan Stanley compliance personnel related to a customer’s use of borrowed funds. This was related to a client’s use of Morgan Stanley securities lending to raise funds to trade in outside accounts.
According to Finra, Morgan Stanley filed a uniform notice of termination (Form U5) on Oct. 26, 2021.
Ard’s behavior was found to be in violation of Finra Rules 2210(d)(1)(B), 2010, and 4511, Finra said.
Finra did not set an effective date for Ard’s suspension on Friday, but his $15,000 fine is due payable immediately.