A former broker who had been arrested on child pornography charges has lost a separate case against Morgan Stanley.
Randall Kiefner has been ordered by a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel to pay the wirehouse $1.44 million, his share of an earlier dispute between Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab, according to a document filed last week in a New Jersey courthouse.
Kiefner left Schwab in 2019 to join Morgan Stanley but was fired after one month for violating its transition policy. In March, Schwab won more than $7.3 million against Morgan Stanley, Kiefner and business partner Chistopher Armstrong for stealing trade secrets.
Morgan Stanley accused the two brokers of refusing to pay their share of the award and sought additional arbitration.
In April, Kiefner was arrested at his home in Apopka, Florida, and charged with 21 counts of possessing, controlling, viewing and/or depicting child pornography, according to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office. Kiefner pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance but allegedly "admitted" to detectives that he had viewed the material, according to the police report.
"He also admitted to having multiple applications where he seeks and shares child pornography with other members of a specific group," the arrest report said, adding: "Randall admitted to having a child porn addiction and preferred females between 11-14 years of age."
