Michael Leahy: Red Bank Rep Barred Over Alleged Supervisory Failures

Former First Standard Financial Company broker Michael Leahy (CRD# 1899498) has been barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) from acting in any principal capacity, according to FINRA records. Leahy was most recently associated with the firm’s branch office in Red Bank, New Jersey.

Michael Leahy’s BrokerCheck report lists two regulatory actions against him in the last two years. In August 2021 he was indefinitely suspended in connection to allegations he “failed to comply with an arbitration award or settlement agreement or to satisfactorily respond to a FINRA request to provide information concerning the status of compliance.” The arbitration award underlying the matter resulted from a 2019 complaint alleging account churning and unauthorized trading; it totaled more than $232,400.

In January 2020 Michael Leahy was sanctioned by FINRA in connection to allegations he failed to reasonably supervise a former registered representative who allegedly “engaged in a pattern” of misconduct including unauthorized trading, unauthorized margin use, the recommendation of “excessive and otherwise unsuitable transactions,” and the charging of excessive commissions “in dozens of customer accounts.” According to FINRA’s findings, Leahy was the firm’s sole principal “and the only individual responsible for supervising the representative.” The allegations state that he knew of “multiple red flags” indicating misconduct by the representative under his supervision, including customer complaints and daily trade blotter records. He allegedly “did not investigate those red flags or otherwise take reasonable action to curtail the representative’s pattern of misconduct,” allowing the representative’s misconduct to continue until their registration was revoked by state securities authorities. As a result of the above alleged conduct, Leahy was indefinitely barred from acting in any principal capacity. He was also issued a fine of $5,000.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Michael Leahy holds 17 years of securities industry experience and is currently suspended from acting as a broker. His prior registrations include First Standard Financial Company in Red Bank, New Jersey and Staten Island, New York; Alexander Capital in Staten Island, New York; Brookstone Securities in Staten Island, New York; JP Turner & Company in Red Bank, New Jersey; NewBridge Securities Corporation in Matawan, New Jersey; LH Ross & Company in Boca Raton, Florida; First Montauk Securities in Red Bank, New Jersey; JW Barclay & Company in Woodbridge, New Jersey; and Platinum Equities in New York, New York. He has passed four securities industry qualifying examinations: the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; and the General Securities Principal Examination, or Series 24. He currently holds zero state securities licenses. (Information current as of August 19, 2021.)