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Compliance September 12, 2007
Mass. Regulator Says Morgan Stanley Mined CareerBuilder.com for Clients
Morgan Stanley and two Boston-based employees were charged by Massachusetts’ top securities regulator for improperly sifting though job posting Web site CareerBuilder.com to find customers, including potential sources of 401(k) rollover assets.
Reported by Adrien Martin
The Web site hosts resumes and includes other valuable information such as employment history, recent salary levels, and vital contact information such as cell phone numbers, according to the complaint from William Galvin, the state’s Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Galvin suggested the employment history information was used to identify potential 401(k) rollover clients.
The complaint says Arlen Jay Fox looked at more than 1,000 resumes between August 2005 and December 2006 after his boss, David Swartz, gave him a password to access the information. He then used the information to drum up business, according to the charges.
Galvin said the two breached the terms of Morgan Stanley’s contract with CareerBuilder and violated national and state do-not-call lists, where people can ask not to be solicited by phone. However, the investment bank said it was an isolated instance.