Finra suspended a securities representative and fined him for allegedly impersonating a competitor on Craigslist and posting ads soliciting sex from men.
Paul Martin Betenbaugh accepted a settlement with Finra, without admitting to or denying Finra’s charges, to pay a $7,500 fine and avoid associating with any firm registered with Finra for three months for an alleged misconduct.
Betenbaugh worked for Edward Jones from 2006 to early 2016. In the published settlement, Finra stated that in Fall 2015 Betenbaugh posted ads explicitly soliciting sex on Craigslist with his competitor’s business cell phone number listed as a contact number three times. The settlement stated the Betenbaugh’s competitor received calls and text messages in response to the ads.
Finra stated that harassing and abusive conduct violated one of its rules. The settlement also said that Edward Jones terminated Betenbaugh’s employment in February 2016 for the misconduct. Betenbaugh joined another registered firm as a general securities representative shortly after and was let go a year and a half later, according to Finra.
Finra accepted the settlement last week.