Advisor wins $200,000, U5 expunged in Ameriprise dispute

A FINRA arbitration panel ordered Ameriprise to expunge Brooke Pilant’s Form U5, awarded her $200,000 and directed the firm to change her record to show her departure as ‘voluntary.’ The panel also ordered Ameriprise to withdraw or expunge a related filing with the Kentucky Department of Insurance and to delete the firm’s explanation for her termination.

Pilant worked at Ameriprise from 2017 to 2024. She filed a complaint alleging defamation, intentional misrepresentation, tortious interference and breach of a prior settlement. In the arbitration, Pilant said she had raised concerns about unethical practices and unequal treatment in the office where she worked under advisor William Maclin.

The three-arbitrator panel awarded $120,000 in compensatory damages, $80,000 for emotional distress and $500 to cover Pilant’s filing fee. In granting expungement, the panel said the U5 information was defamatory but provided limited detail about the specific language Ameriprise used.

Victor Hayslip, Pilant’s attorney at Burr & Forman, said Pilant had flagged unequal treatment and that the U5 wording damaged her professional reputation. “We’re glad that this is over, and it should have never gotten this far,” he added. Hayslip confirmed Pilant reached an earlier settlement with Maclin.

Ameriprise disagreed with parts of the arbitration decision and said Pilant was an employee of an independent financial advisor. The firm added that it is committed to integrity, professionalism and meeting regulatory reporting responsibilities.

Two of the three individuals named in Pilant’s complaint are no longer with Ameriprise. William Maclin, who worked at the firm from 1993 until 2024, is no longer registered with FINRA. George Varones left Ameriprise last year and moved to a role at Wells Fargo. Jennifer Schuster remains an Ameriprise financial advisor in Magnolia, Arkansas.

The defendants invoked Tennessee’s Anti-SLAPP Act in their defense, arguing they filed government-mandated forms that disclose required facts about registered representatives.

Douglas Schulz, president of Invest Securities Consulting, described the outcome as “fairly uncommon” because arbitrators seldom award monetary damages alongside expungement. FINRA revised its expungement rules in 2023 to limit approvals, and arbitration panels typically provide minimal explanation for awards.

Pilant is currently a financial advisor at Dynasty Wealth Solutions in Bartlett, Tennessee, and has been registered with the independent broker-dealer Cambridge Investment Research since 2024.