Ex-RBC, Ameriprise Broker Charged With Kidnapping Is Barred by FINRA  

Nearly two years after a broker was arrested for allegedly beating a woman and holding her against her will in his home in Parkland, Florida, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred him for failing to turn over documents related to a client complaint.

Scott Jay Matalon, who was affiliated with RBC Capital Markets at the time, was arrested on July 5, 2021. RBC placed him on administrative leave and fired him two weeks later, after conducting an investigation, a spokesperson told ThinkAdvisor.

FINRA barred Matalon from associating with any FINRA member firm in any capacity after he did not turn over documents concerning a statement of claim filed by one of his clients against Ameriprise, where he was registered as a broker from 2013 to 2019, according to FINRA’s BrokerCheck website.

Without admitting or denying the regulator’s findings, Matalon signed a FINRA letter of acceptance, waver and consent on May 24. Matthew M. Ryan, principal counsel for the FINRA Department of Enforcement, signed the letter on Tuesday, agreeing to the settlement.

Matalon was registered as an advisor and broker for RBC since 2019, according to his report on FINRA’s BrokerCheck website.

Ameriprise and Jeremy J. Kroll, a partner at law firm Dutko & Kroll who has been representing Matalon for the criminal case, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday. Gregory Tendrich, a lawyer who represented Matalon during the settlement with FINRA, declined to comment.

“Scott Matalon was terminated by RBC in July 2021 for violating the firm’s Code of Conduct,” an RBC spokesperson told ThinkAdvisor by email. “RBC has no further involvement with Mr. Matalon.”

‘Bodily Harm’

Matalon was arrested on July 5, 2021 and charged with kidnapping/inflicting bodily harm, false imprisonment, domestic battery by strangulation and battery, according to Broward County, Florida court documents.

Matalon, who was dating the woman for two months, grabbed and threw her down in his pool’s shallow step area, local news site Parkland Talk reported in 2021, citing the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. The dispute then continued in Matalon’s home, where he allegedly struck the woman several times, injuring her left and right arms, left leg and right hand, the report said, citing deputies and an arrest affidavit.

The victim attempted to flee Matalon’s home several times, and was finally able to get away and seek assistance from a neighbor. But Matalon forced her back into his home against her will — all captured on a neighbor’s Ring doorbell camera, according to the report.

Matalon then took the woman upstairs and “restrained her in the closet,” the report said, citing the affidavit. Matalon allegedly placed his forearm against her throat, “blocking her airway to prevent her from calling out for help from the police,” committing battery by strangulation, the report said, citing what the deputies wrote.

But she was able to scream and the deputies who arrived outside heard her and entered the home, where they arrested Matalon, according to the report.

Matalon pleaded not guilty and was released on bond, court documents showed.

Almost three weeks before that arrest, Boca Raton Police arrested Matalon for allegedly battering a different woman, who identified him as her boyfriend of two months, the same report said, citing an arrest affidavit. That incident happened in Boca Raton on June 15, 2021, according to court documents. Matalon was charged with domestic battery in that case and released on bond.

Both criminal cases are still open, according to Broward County and Palm Beach County court documents.

(Pictured: Scott Jay Matalon, Photo via Mugshots Zone)