Stephen Hlibok: Merrill Lynch Advisor Faces $337K Complaint

Columbia, Maryland financial advisor Stephen Hlibok (CRD# 1728900) allegedly made unauthorized trades, according to a recent investor complaint. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he is registered as a broker and an investment advisor with Merrill Lynch.

Mr. Hlibok’s BrokerCheck report discloses two investor complaints. The most recent, filed in September 2025, alleges that as a representative of Merrill Lynch, he made unauthorized trades involving over-the-counter stock products. The pending complaint alleges damages of $337,668.75.

An earlier investor complaint, filed in 2003, alleged that as a Merrill Lynch representative, he made unsuitable investment recommendations involving over-the-counter stock products. The complaint alleged damages of $592,000 and was denied by the firm.

In a statement included with the denied complaint’s disclosure, Mr. Hlibok contextualized the allegations. “Merrill Lynch has denied this baseless and totally false complaint,” he wrote. “The client made no purchases at Merrill Lynch—she bought the stock on question elsewhere and delivered it into her account. All she did at Merrill Lynch was try to sell some of the stock, however when she attempted to sell the transfer agent refused her shares and the resulting short position had to be bough in by Merrill Lynch. Merrill lynch then returned the shares to the firm that had delivered them to Merrill Lynch and closed the client’s account.”

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Stephen Hlibok holds 38 years of securities industry experience. Based in Columbia, Maryland, he has been registered as a broker and an investment advisor with Merrill Lynch since 1987 and 1990, respectively. His credentials include the passage of four securities industry qualifying exams: the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, or Series 65; the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; and the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7. He holds 37 state licenses. (Information current as of November 3, 2025.)

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