William Alson Johnson (CRD # 1518066, Registered Representative, Prospect, Kentucky) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Johnson consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that he failed to observe standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade. The findings stated that Johnson opened a joint account for an elderly customer and Johnson’s acquaintance, funded entirely by the elderly customer’s assets. The findings also stated that Johnson’s acquaintance, who served as the customer’s caretaker, withdrew over $14 million from their joint account. The findings further stated that Johnson should have raised questions based on the irregularity of the transfer of funds between the accounts, including the size of the transactions and the manner in which the caretaker withdrew money from the joint account before redepositing it in accounts under his sole control. The findings included that the trading in the customer’s account generated large capital gain liabilities for Johnson’s elderly customer. FINRA found that Johnson made false statements while under oath during his on-the-record testimony about his awareness of expensive gifts the caretaker had given to his sales assistant, and attempted to convince his sales assistant to make false statements during her testimony. (FINRA Case # 2007010251302)

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