Ethan De Naray Broker Investigation

The Frankowski Firm is investigating potential claims against Ethan De Naray, of the Minneapolis, Minnesota area, and his former employer,  Merrill Lynch, following FINRA’s fine and suspension of De Naray on August 3, 2018. FINRA’s Acceptance, Waiver and Consent letter against De Naray included FINRA findings that De Naray conducted unauthorized trades and mislabeled trades in customer accounts.

Specifically, FINRA found that De Naray engaged in more than 100 discretionary (broker conducted) trades in a customer’s account without obtaining prior written authorization from the customer and without out Merrill Lynch having accepted the accounts as discretionary. This conduct was in violation of FINRA Rule 2510(b). Moreover, De Naray also was found to have mismarked customer order tickets as “unsolicited” trades (i.e., customer originated) rather than accurately listing the transactions as solicited (by the broker). This conduct was in violation of FINRA Rules 4511 and 2010.

As punishment for these violations, FINRA fined De Naray $5,000 and suspended him in all capacities from associating with any FINRA member firm for one month. De Naray’s FINRA BrokerCheck report reveals that he was fired by Merrill Lynch in May 2017 based on the same conduct which formed the basis of FINRA’s sanctions. De Naray’s dismissal followed a customer dispute in February 2017 in which a customer alleged unauthorized trading by De Naray from June 2016 to February 2017

In spite of De Naray’s customer allegations and dismissal by Merrill Lynch for unauthorized trading and mislabeled transactions, De Naray was hired by Feltl & Company of Wayzata, Minnesota in July 2017 and he remains employed there.

If you or someone you know lost money as a client of Ethan De Naray or Merrill Lynch due to unsuitable, misrepresented, or unauthorized transactions, please call the Frankowski Firm at 888.741.7503 or fill out this contact form.