FINRA bars two ex-Raymond James advisors who sold unapproved products

June 25, 2024

Two Raymond James Financial Services Inc. financial advisors on Monday were barred from the securities industry for not cooperating in investigations, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.; both had previously been flagged by Raymond James for selling products to customers the firm had not signed off on as well as selling away, which involves offering clients investments that are not approved by the firm.


Bryan Noonan sold an “unapproved investment,” while Thomas Reyes sold annuities not sanctioned by the firm. Both failed to cooperate with Finra’s investigation, a flouting and violation of rules that leads to the self-regulator barring the financial advisor from working in the securities industry.


Raymond James Financial Services is the independent contractor broker-dealer arm of Raymond James Financial Inc., which has more than 8,700 financial advisors across its various work platforms.


"When it comes to products that have not been ok'd or outside business activities by advisors, firms can't be reactionary or do the work after the fact," said Sander Ressler, managing director of Essential Edge Compliance Outsourcing Services. "They must take reasonable steps to prevent and detect this kind of behavior under Finra's supervision rules, and use all tools available, including government databases, to do so."


Investment News



Firms must take reasonable steps to avoid financial advisors' selling away, one compliance expert noted.


By Lindsey Hawkins October 28, 2025
Arbitration IQ provides expert testimony to securities law attorneys, claimants, respondents and regulators in actions involving securities law. The firm is founded and led by Sander Ressler, who ranks among the nation’s most sought-after securities law expert witnesses. He has worked on more than 600 arbitration cases, provided testimony in 150 hearings and worked with more than 70 law firms. Learn more at: www.arbitrationiq.com.
April 21, 2025
A federal judge in Brooklyn last week approved the release of $400 million in funds to some of the beleaguered investors in GPB Capital Holdings who have not seen a nickel or returns since 2018, when the private placement investment scheme began to unravel.  Meanwhile, the sentencing of two top GPB executives, founder David Gentile, and broker-dealer and sale chief Jeff Schneider, was scheduled for this week but has been moved to May, according to court filings. Last August, a jury in federal court in Brooklyn found Gentile guilty of five counts of fraud and Schneider three. The federal government’s charges stemmed from their management of GPB Capital Holdings, which was founded in 2013, GPB Capital. The money manager sold its high risk private placements through dozens of independent broker-dealers and five years later had raised $1.8 billion from wealthy clients looking for yield in a decade ago when interest rates were next to zero.