By Kenneth Corbin

Regulators have suspended a former Schwab advisor over allegations that he engaged in an illicit profit-sharing arrangement with a client who was also a family member. Daniel Roper accepted a two-year suspension and agreed to a $15,000 fine and to pay nearly $81,000 in disgorgement connected to alleged trading losses to resolve the matter, according to a letter detailing the settlement that was published by brokerage industry self-regulator Finra.

Roper reached the settlement without admitting or denying misconduct. His lawyer didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Roper resigned from Charles Schwab in 2023 after a client filed a complaint alleging that he had traded in the client's account in exchange for a share of the profits without the client's written approval, among other things. "At Schwab, we hold ourselves to the highest standards of ethical conduct. The actions of this former representative fell short of those expectations," a Schwab spokesman says.

The settlement letter alleges that from October 2020 through January 2022, Roper executed more than 14,000 equity trades and 6,300 options trades in the client's self-directed Schwab account without the customer's written authorization and without Schwab accepting the account as discretionary.

The customer allegedly gave Roper oral authorization to handle the account on a discretionary basis but never provided the written authorization to make the arrangement official. The complaint the client went on to file alleges that Roper "engaged in unauthorized, excessive, and unsuitable trading, which resulted in losses."

Roper allegedly conducted the trading using the client's login credentials and received a share of the proceeds from trades that were profitable from an account the client held away from Schwab, which helped conceal the arrangement. The letter also alleges that he communicated with the client through thousands of personal text and email messages -- unauthorized communication channels that were kept hidden from Schwab's compliance staff.

Roper, who joined the industry in 2017 with Bancwest Investment Services and joined Schwab in 2019, hasn't registered with another firm since leaving Schwab in 2023, according to regulatory records.

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July 25, 2025 14:10 ET (18:10 GMT)

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