FINRA Bars Mark Allen Larson (Stillwater, Minnesota) From Securities Industry Following Withdrawal From Customer Annuity Using Forged Signature

Mark Allen Larson (CRD #1458125, Registered Representative, Stillwater, Minnesota) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Larson was registered with Princor Financial Services Corp. from January 1987 until February 2012. See FINRA Case #2012031582501.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Larson consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that he initiated a $17,250 withdrawal from a customer’s annuity account using an annuity withdrawal form with a forged signature. The findings stated that Larson, who was having personal financial difficulties at the time, recently had asked the customer to loan him money. The findings also stated that an affiliate of Larson’s member firm, the company that issued the customer’s annuity, mailed a check for the annuity withdrawal to the customer. After receiving the check, the customer contacted Larson’s firm. The customer stated that he had not requested a withdrawal and advised the firm that Larson had recently asked him for a loan. The firm contacted the company, which stopped payment on the annuity-withdrawal check, so Larson never took possession of any of the customer’s funds. The findings also included that the firm conducted an unannounced audit of Larson’s office. The auditors found signed, blank annuity-withdrawal forms for other customers. In some instances, the customer signatures on the blank withdrawal forms were not genuine; they were either photocopied or cut-and-pasted from other sources.

If you were a client of Larson and suffered investment losses, please call Sonn Law Group at 844-689-5754 or complete our “contact form.” Sonn Law Group is a nationally recognized law firm representing individuals, trusts, corporations and institutions in claims against brokerage firms, banks and insurance companies.