Elaine LaCerte, Former Morgan Stanley Broker, Accused of Unsuitable UIT Sales

Elaine LaCerte, a former Morgan Stanley broker in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was suspended from the industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Ms. LaCerte was accused of engaging in an unsuitable pattern of short-term trading of Unit Investment Trusts (UITs) in over 100 customer accounts. “In connection with these accounts, LaCerte repeatedly recommended that the customers purchase UITs and then sell these products well before their maturity dates. In addition, on more than 100 occasions, LaCerte recommended that her customers use the proceeds from the short-term sale of a UIT to purchase another UIT with identical investment objectives. LaCerte’s recommendations caused the customers to incur unnecessary sales charges, and were unsuitable in view of the frequency and cost of the transactions.” This was according to her complaint. LaCerte was banned from the industry for six months and fined $5,000 because of this misconduct. This was against securities laws and internal firm rules.

Elaine LaCerte, also known as Elaine Diones and Elaine Diones Helzer, was previously registered with Diones & Company from July 1986 until March 1987, F&G Securities from February 1987 until December 1987, Merrill Lynch in New York, New York from December 1987 until March 1995, Morgan Stanley in Purchase, New York from March 1995 until January 2005, Citigroup Global Markets in Colorado Springs, Colorado from January 2005 until June 2009 and Morgan Stanley in Colorado Springs from June 2009 until August 2016. She has four customer disputes against him, alleging misrepresentation with respect to the purchase of a municipal bond, and misrepresentation with respect to an investment risk, among other things. She has been suspended and is not currently registered as a broker. This is according to her online record with FINRA.