Broker Christian De Berardinis Suspended And Fined For Selling Away To Private Placements

Christian De Berardinis (CRD# 4312327, aka Christian Eduardo DeBerardinis) is a previously registered broker and currently registered investment advisor last registered with Morgan Stanley (CRD# 149777) of New York, NY. His previous employers include J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (CRD# 79) of Miami, FL, Phoenix Derivatives Group, LLC (CRD# 25802) and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. (CRD# 249), also of New York, NY. He has been in the industry since 2001.

A customer dispute filed on 3/1/23 by multiple claimants alleged that De Bernadinis “solicited outside investment opportunities not authorized from the firm from February 20, 2020 to March 1, 2023.”  The customers requested damages of $6,500,000, and the claim was settled for $1,350,000.

On 6/22/2023, De Berardinis “voluntarily resigned” from Morgan Stanley, stating that he left to start his own Registered Investment Advisory Firm. However, Morgan Stanley states that he resigned amid “Allegations of involvement with offers or sales of a security not approved by the firm.”  The first Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration (Form U5), filed on July 20,2023, stated that he was under review of the original allegations. On September 6, 2023, Morgan Stanley filed another Form U5 amendment stating that the “firm concluded the representative was involved in offers or sales of a security not approved by the firm.”

De Berardinis was involved in multiple private placement offerings of securities that ultimately raised $2.45 million in investment funds from customers. However, these securities were not sold by nor approved by Morgan Stanley. Additionally, he failed to notify the firm of his intent to sell them by prior written notice as required, and did not receive prior approval. De Berardinis violated FINRA Rules 3280 and 2010, along with Morgan Stanley’s own written supervisory procedures.

De Berardinis facilitated investments for four Morgan Stanley clients in a private placement offering by a dairy company. He introduced these clients to the dairy company’s CEO, recommended the investment, and provided information about it to them. In some instances, he helped with paperwork and transferred funds from clients’ Morgan Stanley accounts to the dairy company at their request. The total investment from these four clients amounted to $2.45 million, and De Berardinis received $22,500 in referral fees from the dairy company.

However, De Berardinis failed to provide Morgan Stanley with prior written notice of these transactions or obtain the firm’s approval for his participation, which fell outside his regular employment duties. Additionally, he falsely answered questions about his involvement in private securities transactions on three firm compliance questionnaires between 2020 and 2023.

Did You Invest With Christian De Berardinis? 

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