A 22-year veteran broker in Dunwoody, Georgia claims that Wells Fargo Advisors’ bid to claw back $400,000 from a retention payment represents retaliation for his whistleblowing activities, according to a complaint filed in a state court on Monday.
Robert B. Warnock III, who left Wells in 2022 after 14 years, claims the firm is illegally punishing him after he reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it continued to send him documents containing private customer information after his departure. Warnock says he told the SEC that he received “numerous overnight deliveries” which disclosed private customer information, thereby violating multiple federal laws and potentially implicating him as a recipient.
The SEC opened an investigation in response to Warnock’s whistleblower filing and then Wells filed an arbitration complaint seeking repayment of the retention loans as “retaliation,” according to Warnock’s complaint, which was filed in the Superior Court of Gwinnett County.
A spokesperson for Wells declined to comment. It is common for firms to seek repayment of upfront loans when a broker leaves to join another firm before the total has amortized, and lawyers say it is difficult for brokers to prevail in a counter-claim because of clear-cut clawback agreements in their contracts.
Wells argues in its arbitration complaint, which is included in court filings, that the broker received around $833,000 in retention loans in 2016 and agreed to repay any unamortized...
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