Two former professional athletes, one from the National Basketball Association (NBA) and one from the National Football League (NFL), won an $819,000 arbitration award against Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in a case that revolved around the broker-dealer’s negligent supervision of a former broker.
The arbitration was brought by Keyon Dooling, who played guard in the NBA for twelve years, and John St. Clair, who played offensive tackle in the NFL for eleven years, against their former broker Aaron Parthemer, who was barred from the securities industry in 2015 by FINRA according to his BrokerCheck report.
Dooling and St. Clair both invested in Global Village Concerns, a sportswear company. Dooling additionally invested in Club Play, a Miami Beach nightclub. Both investments, however, became worthless.
“These guys worked incredibly hard for their money, and it is gratifying that the arbitrators found Morgan Stanley liable for failing to properly supervise its financial adviser,” said the athletes’ attorney in a statement. “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.
“We are disappointed in and disagree with the arbitrators’ decision in this case,” said Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Christine Jockle.
Parthemer himself was not named as a Respondent in the arbitration award. He was barred from the securities industry for performing outside business activities that his firm was not aware of or had given approval for, according to his BrokerCheck report. Those businesses included allegedly running a hip-hop dance club in South Beach, according to a settlement letter.
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