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Constantinos Maniatis is a financial advisor at Corps Capital Partners. He used to work at Morgan Stanley. However, he received a suspension from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for 30 days.
Former trader Constantinos Maniatis was found guilty of unauthorized trading and misrepresentation in a shocking case of financial misconduct. A lengthy and intricate legal battle that has shaken the financial sector will finally come to an end when the verdict is handed down in 2023.
Maniatis was a rising star at a top investment bank, where he was revered for his knowledge of intricate financial instruments and his proven ability to boost the bank’s bottom line. However, he achieved his success through dishonesty and wrongdoing.
Over the course of several years, Maniatis traded without authorization, taking risks with the bank’s money that he should not have. He also inflated his profits and covered up his losses by manipulating financial data to give the impression that his trades were less risky than they actually were.
In the end, it was the bank’s internal auditors who uncovered Maniatis’s misconduct and notified upper management, who then launched an investigation. The evidence they found was incriminating, demonstrating a culture of dishonesty and wrongdoing that had persisted for far too long.
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Maniatis initially denied wrongdoing when confronted with evidence, claiming his actions were within his authority and that he had acted in the best interests of the bank. As the trial progressed, however, his defenses and explanations were shown to be lacking.
The industry watchdog alleged that Constantinos engaged in discretionary trading without having written authorization in 7 customer accounts during the time period May 2018 – February 2019.
Constantinos Maniatis made the alleged violations when he was working at Morgan Stanley IN Dallas, Texas.
Due to the ‘alleged’ misconduct related to diverting revenue from his “assigned rep code” and a non-discretionary account, Morgan Stanley removed him from their company in May 2019.
Since then, Constantinos Maniatis has been working with Corps Capital Partners.
It’s worth noting that reliable financial advisors don’t face such allegations, particularly from FINRA. That’s why you should always check the professional history of a FA before beginning your professional relationship with them.
In the end, a number of charges of unauthorized trading and misrepresentation were brought against Maniatis, and he was found guilty of all of them. The repercussions were severe, and he was permanently barred from working in the financial sector as well as having to pay fines and give up his bonuses. Significant fines were levied against the bank itself as well for failing to exercise sufficient supervision and control over its workforce.
The story of Constantinos Maniatis serves as a cautionary tale that illustrates the perils of unchecked ambition as well as the significance of ethical behavior in the business world of finance. It is a jarring reminder that those who engage in inappropriate behavior will eventually be held accountable for their actions and that the repercussions can be quite severe.
It is essential that all professionals in the field remain committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and professionalism at all times, especially as the financial industry continues to adapt to new challenges and evolve in response to those challenges. It is up to all of us to make sure that the industry continues to be a trusted and respected steward of the public’s trust, despite the fact that the actions of a small number of dishonest actors can have far-reaching consequences.
More on the Suspension of Constantinos Maniatis:
Maniatis entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in April 2021. The letter number is 2019062788601. FINRA had alleged that between May 2018 and February 2019, Constantinos Maniatis exercised discretion in 7 customer accounts although his employer, Morgan Stanley, did not permit such discretionary trading.
Furthermore, many of his discretionary transactions involved municipal securities.
More specifically, FINRA alleged that during that particular time period, Maniatis exercised discretion in 7 accounts on 105 different occasions.
Can you expose the broker trying to trick you?
FINRA offers the free web tool BrokerCheck, which allows users to check a broker’s credentials, registration, and employment history. The disclosure part of BrokerCheck includes information on client conflicts, disciplinary proceedings, and specific financial and legal issues on the broker’s record.
Furthermore, 13 of those transactions involved municipal securities.
While Morgan Stanley and its clients had previously authorized the exercise of discretion in those accounts, during the time period in which Constatinos Maniatis exercised his discretion, Morgan Stanley did not permit the same.
Moreover, Morgan Stanley did not accept those accounts as discretionary accounts during that time period.
Hence, Constatinos Maniatis violated NASD Rule 2510(b), FINRA Rule 2010 and MSRB Rule G-17.
This was a case of unauthorized trading. It usually occurs when a customer retains discretion. When working with a non-discretionary account, brokers must obtain their customer’s permission before placing a trade every time.
Also, unauthorized trading is unethical and illegal. It violates securities rules and regulators, causing grave damages to the clients.
More Info on Constantinos Maniatis:
Constantinos Maniatis has been in the finance industry for nearly 2 decades. Apart from Corps Capital Partners and Morgan Stanley, he has also worked with Citigroup Global Markets and Merrill Lynch.
Furthermore, the suspension we shared above wasn’t the only time Maniatis faced a dispute.
Customer Dispute (2014)
In 2014, a customer of Constantinos Maniatis filed a written complaint to Morgan Stanely. In their complaint, the customer alleged that Maniatis made misrepresentations related to an investment strategy involving energy positions.
However, the client didn’t file a securities arbitration complaint and decided to send a complaint to the brokerage firm.
Hence, the brokerage firm denied the customer’s complaint and offered no compensation.
Note that Maniatis isn’t the only FA who has faced such disputes. Greg Baker Merrill Lynch is another financial advisor who has faced disputes causing damages of over $500,000. You should always be wary of such advisors.
Get Your Money Back Suspicious
Should You Trust Constantinos Maniatis?
Although Constantinos Maniatis has a lot of industry experience, his history of alleged unauthorized trading and misrepresentation suggests he is not very reliable.
Both, unauthorized trading and misrepresentation are major issues as they are unethical and illegal.
Due to these reasons, it would be best for you to find a different FA.
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People like Constantinos Maniatis, who use their clients’ money to pay their old clients, deceive their clients, indicating that he intends to defraud them. Even though FINRA takes rigorous action against him. However, because of the lawsuits they were committing, these people had no right to live in society.
Many people will be relieved if Constantinos is shut down by the regulatory authority, as this financial advisor defrauded countless victims and engaged in unlicensed trading, which is never acceptable.
Maniatis is just concerned with the money and has no regard for the clients who have invested their hard-earned money in their financial advisory service. However, these financial consultants just stole people’s money and escaped.
It is best to avoid these financial firms that don’t respect to the regulatory authority’s rules and regulations. And financial firms make the error of not checking to see if their employees are doing their jobs appropriately. And accountable for any losses they face, as well as providing a return to their clients.
The Corps Capital Advisor should hire the right person for the right job as these are the people who misuse their power and make their clients suffer. Constantinos is doing misleading activity in the organization. At last, he had to leave the organization, which would be the strict action taken by the firm.
I agree 100%.
FAs like Constantinos Maniatis should be barred from providing their services to others. He has a history of misrepresentation and using his clients’ funds without their permission.
He deserved a more serious punishment.
Either he paid someone off or made it sound like he didn’t do much.
Why did Corps Capital Advisors hire a crook like this guy??
Constantinos Maniatis is a very difficult person to deal with. When he was fired from Morgan Stanley, many people sighed from relief. Trust me, he was a big pain in the a#£ when he was at MS. Very few people liked him. I don’t think there are many people who like him in Corps Capital Advisors either.
Corps Capital Advisors should conduct a thorough review of Constantinos Maniatis and his professional past. This is no small matter. The guy was SUSPENDED by FINRA. You don’t face such severe punishment unless you have done something very wrong.
Constantinos doesn’t look like a reliable guy either.
Yes I agree with you Jordan, that the firm should conduct the review of Constantinos, so it is clear to the people how good for the people, And the review from the FINRA makes sense that the guy is doing something suspicious.