Candido Viyella: $2MM Complaint Against Miami Broker

Former Miami broker and investment adviser Candido Viyella (CRD# 1829255) has received several settled or pending customer complaints in recent years, as well as a sanction over alleged misconduct. According to records provided by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Viyella was most recently registered with Morgan Stanley, though he is currently barred from acting as a broker.

According to his FINRA-maintained BrokerCheck report, Candido Viyella has received two settled investor complaints and three pending investor complaints. He was also barred from FINRA in May 2021 in connection to allegations he refused to appear for on-the-record testimony requested during the course of FINRA’s investigation “into whether he participated in private securities transactions without providing prior written notice to his member firm.” The bar took effect on May 10, 2021 and is indefinite. Viyella’s BrokerCheck report also states that he was terminated from Morgan Stanley in November 2020 following allegations that he participated “in an outside investment involving clients for which the registered representative had a beneficial ownership interest.”

An investor complaint filed in 2020 alleged that as a representative of Morgan Stanley, Candido Viyella solicited an outside investment without firm authorization. The complaint reached a settlement of $140,000.

A pending investor complaint filed in 2020 alleges that while at Morgan Stanley, Candido Viyella made fraudulent misrepresentations regarding unauthorized outside investment opportunities. The pending complaint alleges damages of $2 million.

Another pending complaint filed in 2020 alleges that as a Morgan Stanley representative, he solicited an investment in an unauthorized product. The pending complaint alleges unspecified damages.

Another complaint filed in 2020 alleged that while at Morgan Stanley, he solicited the customer to invest in an unauthorized outside investment. The complaint reached a settlement of $60,000.

A pending complaint filed in 2019 alleges that as a Morgan Stanley representative, he solicited unauthorized outside investments. The pending complaint alleges unspecified damages.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Candido Viyella holds 32 years of securities industry experience and is currently barred from acting as a broker. His prior registrations include Morgan Stanley in Miami, Florida; UBS International in Miami, Florida; UBS Painewebber in Weehawken, New Jersey; Prudential Securities in New York, New York; and Smith Barney Harris Upham & Company in New York, New York. He has passed five securities industry qualifying examinations: Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, or Series 65; the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the National Commodity Futures Examination, or Series 3; and General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7. He currently holds zero state securities licenses. (Information current as of August 19, 2021.)