William May: $1 Million Complaint Against Morgan Stanley Rep

A pending customer complaint against Alpharetta, Georgia-based broker and investment adviser William May (CRD#: 1254424) seeks more than $1 million in damages. According to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) records, May is currently a registered representative with Morgan Stanley and has no other customer complaints listed on his disclosure form.

Filed in February 2021, the complaint alleges that as a representative of Morgan Stanley, William May failed to follow instructions with regards to an equity investment between 2014 and 2020. The pending complaint alleges damages of $1,104,918.20.

William May’s member firm, Morgan Stanley, has itself received 97 customer complaints that resulted in arbitration awards to the customer, according to its BrokerCheck report. A 2020 complaint against the firm, for instance, alleged breach of fiduciary duty, churning, misrepresentation, unsuitable investment recommendations, breach of contract, supervisory failures, and negligence; the complaint ended in a 2021 award to the customer of $782,278.90. Another 2020 complaint alleged breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, omission of material facts, breach of contract, and negligence; the complaint ended in a 2021 award to the customer of $172,813. A 2019 complaint alleged breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation of material facts, omission of material facts, breach of contract, erroneous charges, supervisory failures, and negligence; the complaint ended in a 2021 award to the customer of $309,038.

A 2018 complaint against the firm alleged breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and negligence; the complaint ended in an award to the customer of $127,000.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that William May has been registered with Morgan Stanley in Alpharetta, Georgia since 2009. His previous registrations include Morgan Stanley & Company Incorporated in Alpharetta, Georgia and Morgan Stanley DW in Alpharetta, Georgia. He has passed four securities industry 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 National Commodity Futures Examination, or Series 3. He currently holds 54 state securities licenses and is registered with four self-regulatory organizations: FINRA, NYSE American LLC, the Nasdaq Stock Market, and the New York Stock Exchange. (Information current as of June 7, 2021.)