Cetera Advisors Fires Advisor William Carlton for Inappropriate Trading Practice Allegations

KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON Were you a client of financial advisor William Carlton from Kirkland, Washington? Our securities arbitration law firm is looking into allegations made against William Carlton also known as Bill D. Carlton. In December 2023, he was fired by Cetera Advisors. Cetera Advisors had previously acquired First Allied Securities, and Carlton had been affiliated with First Allied from 2008 to September 2022.

Cetera Advisors terminated William Carlton regarding allegations that he engaged in “inappropriate trading practices”, according to FINRA BrokerCheck. Moreover, in September 2024, he was the subject of a complaint made by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC alleged that he engaged in “cherry picking”, in which he allocated profitable trades to his own account while putting losing trades in the accounts of his customer. The SEC complaint alleged that this scheme caused him to profit $5.3 million from trades while costing his clients $6.4 million in losing trades.

Bill D. Carlton had been with Cetera Advisors from September 2022 to December 2023 and with First Allied Securities from 2008 to September 2022. He worked in Kirkland and Bellevue, Washington branch offices.

Brokerage firms must have written supervisory and compliance procedures, under securities rules and regulations, to monitor their advisors’ conduct. If they fail to reasonably supervise their advisors, they may be liable for customer losses.

Attorney David Neuman is licensed to practice law in Washington and has an office in Seattle. Our firm has represented numerous investors throughout Washington and have sued dozens of brokerage firms in the past.

View BrokerCheck report here. View SEC Complaint here.

If you lost money with William Carlton or Cetera Advisors, please Contact Us at 206-795-5798 for a free evaluation of your case.