An AWC was issued in which Tyrrell was barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities. Without admitting or denying the findings, Tyrrell consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he participated in undisclosed private securities transactions without providing prior written notice to his member firm. The findings stated that Tyrrell participated in private securities transactions totaling more than $13 million with a customer involving the customer’s investment in private equity and debt securities in companies in a variety of industries as part of the customer’s overall financial plan. Although Tyrrell was not compensated for these transactions, he participated in them by, among other things, referring investments to the customer, conducting due diligence and relaying his views on the transactions at the customer’s request, helping the customer establish certain holding companies to make the investments, and facilitating transfers of funds from the customer’s firm accounts to the companies. The findings also stated that Tyrrell engaged in outside business activities without providing prior written notice to his firm. All of the outside business activities involved the same customer mentioned above, and three of the activities involved Tyrrell, at the customer’s request, serving as an officer of the holding companies the customer used to make his outside investments. A fourth was a company Tyrrell co-founded in which the customer invested. The fifth was a concierge services company owned by Tyrrell’s spouse 24 Disciplinary and Other FINRA Actions February 2018 with which Tyrrell was also involved. It was formed in part to provide personal services to Tyrrell’s customer. Between June 2013 and June 2016, Tyrrell caused approximately $498,000 to be transferred from the customer’s firm accounts to the concierge services company to pay for goods and services on the customer’s behalf. In June 2016, the customer raised questions about the concierge services company. Thereafter, Tyrrell performed an audit of the concierge company’s expenditures and returned approximately $130,000 to the customer’s firm accounts, consisting of the balance of the customer’s unspent funds held in the concierge service company’s bank account, and repayment of certain operating expenses the concierge services company had charged to the customer. The findings also included that Tyrrell provided his firm with compliance questionnaires that failed to disclose his participation in the private securities transactions and outside business activities. (FINRA Case #2016051259501)
