Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has been ordered to pay two former professional athletes $819,300 because one of its brokers recommended worthless investments to the athletes, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced Tuesday.
Keyon Dooling, an NBA player, and John St. Clair, an NFL player, were advised to invest in Global Village Concerns, a start-up sports apparel company. In addition, it was recommended Dooling invest in Club Play, a Miami Beach nightclub. Both investments became worthless, a Finra arbitration panel says.
Restitution was ordered for the athletes because of the negligent supervision of the broker by Morgan Stanley, Finra says. The broker, Aaron Parthemer, was barred from the securities industry by Finra in an earlier action.
Dooling was a first-round pick in 2000, and played in the NBA for 12 seasons for a number of teams. St. Clair was in the NFL for 11 seasons and played for the Miami Dolphins, St. Louis Rams, Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears. Both athletes relied on Parthemer for their investment decisions.
“Too often, professional athletes fall victim to financial mismanagement, and this is one of the few instances where an athlete has been able to recover his money,” said Chase Carlson, one of the attorneys representing the athletes.
“I believe it is important, especially for professional athletes, to advocate for safeguards and protections that will hold institutions accountable for not faithfully representing our financial interests. I am satisfied with the ruling and hope the outcome serves as a lesson in fiscal stewardship for financial institutions,” Dooling said.