Heather VanLandingham; Morgan Stanley; Palm Harbor, Florida

According to a recent Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Heather VanLandingham, a former Morgan Stanley representative, has been accused of violating securities laws and internal firm rules. Allegedly, in January 2016, while associated with Morgan Stanley, VanLandingham effected transactions in a firm customer’s account without the customer’s knowledge or authorization, which is in violation of FINRA rules. VanLandingham also misrepresented on firm documents that she had spoken with the customer to confirm wire transfer requests when she had not verbally confirmed them. For this she was fined $5,000 and suspended from the industry for 20 business days. According to public records with BrokerCheck, Heather VanLandingham was previously registered with Morgan Stanley in Palm Harbor, Florida from July 2013 until February 2016 and SunTrust Investment Services in Riverview, Florida from April 2016 until February 2018. She has one regulatory matter against her, and is not currently registered as a broker. Morgan Stanley may be liable for investment losses on a contingency fee basis if you lost money because of VanLandingham’s recommendations or securities sales. The firm had a duty to reasonably supervise her while she was registered there.