FINRA Bars Phillip Johnson After Half-Million Dollar Customer Loans

Phillip Andrew Johnson (CRD #501352) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last employer was D.H. Hill Securities, LLLP (CRD #41528) of Kingwood, TX. His previous employers include SunTrust Investment Services, Inc. (CRD #17499) of Nashville, TN, AXA Advisors, LLC (CRD #6627) and The Equitable Life Assurance Society Of The United States (CRD #4039), both of New York, New York. He has been in the industry since 1976.

Johnson is the subject of seven disclosures on his record, four of which are regulatory actions. Five of the disclosures were filed from 04/24/2015 through 06/20/2018. The first disclosure was employment separation.

Two of the disclosures in 2018 are regulatory actions from FINRA, related to the same action.

On 3/21/2017, a customer filed a dispute claiming that Johnson “induced” her into liquidating a variable annuity that she’d purchased elsewhere worth $540,000, and invest the $248,000 proceeds in a real estate investment with him. Johnson also arranged a personal loan with the client, not allowed by SunTrust. The client requested damages of $600,000, and the case was settled for $525,000.

On 2/27/2018, FINRA suspended Johnson for three months, effective 3/4/2018, and fined him $5,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, Johnson signed an Acceptance, Waiver & Consent letter (AWC) agreeing to the fine and three-month suspension.

On 6/20/2018, FINRA barred Johnson, effective 9/24/2018 indefinitely for failing to respond to a request for information for the same case.

Johnson was previously suspended and fined by FINRA for a similar action, for which SunTrust Investments allowed him to resign on 04/25/2015. He arranged a $322,000 personal loan with a customer without obtaining written permission from the firm. He also made inaccurate statements about the loan on his annual compliance questionnaire. In this instance, he was suspended for three months and fined $5,000. Johnson paid the fine in full on 4/30/2016.

In April of 1980, the state of Tennessee suspended Johnson for 30 days from selling securities there. No additional information is available.

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