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Regulation and Compliance > Litigation

Ex-Broker Facing Child Porn Charges Loses $1.44M Arbitration With Morgan Stanley

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What You Need to Know

  • The finding against Randall Kiefner centered on his violating the bank's transition policy after leaving Schwab.

A former broker who had been arrested on child pornography charges has lost a separate case against Morgan Stanley. 

Randall Kiefner has been ordered by a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel to pay the wirehouse $1.44 million, his share of an earlier dispute between Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab, according to a document filed last week in a New Jersey courthouse.  

Kiefner left Schwab in 2019 to join Morgan Stanley but was fired after one month for violating its transition policy. In March, Schwab won more than $7.3 million against Morgan Stanley, Kiefner and business partner Chistopher Armstrong for stealing trade secrets. 

Morgan Stanley accused the two brokers of refusing to pay their share of the award and sought additional arbitration. 

In April, Kiefner was arrested at his home in Apopka, Florida, and charged with 21 counts of possessing, controlling, viewing and/or depicting child pornography, according to the Seminole County Sheriff’s OfficeKiefner pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance but allegedly “admitted” to detectives that he had viewed the material, according to the police report. 

“He also admitted to having multiple applications where he seeks and shares child pornography with other members of a specific group,” the arrest report said, adding: “Randall admitted to having a child porn addiction and preferred females between 11-14 years of age.”

The trial is set to continue in December, according to the Seminole County court. 

The arbitration decision announced Wednesday also requires Armstrong to pay $1.44 million to Morgan Stanley, bringing the total award to $2.88 million. 

After being fired by Morgan Stanley, Kiefner and Armstrong sued the bank for breach of contract and defamation, claiming that Morgan Stanley told them their actions were legal and promised to cover the cost of any dispute with Schwab. 

Morgan Stanley “duped Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Kiefner into disclosing Schwab’s confidential practice metrics and customer information with a view towards diverting their customers from Schwab,” the advisors alleged. 

In March, an arbitration panel agreed with the claims and ordered Morgan Stanley to pay damages and legal fees of $3 million to Armstrong and $1.5 million to Kiefner.

The most recent arbitration decision requiring Armstrong and Kiefner to pay Morgan Stanley was first reported by AdvisorHub


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