According to FINRA, Daniel Michael Roper of Omaha, Nebraska was assessed a deferred fine of $15,000, suspended from association with any FINRA member firm in all capacities for two years, ordered to pay deferred disgorgement of $80,747 plus interest in unlawful profits, and required to requalify by examination before reassociating with any FINRA member.

Roper entered more than 14,000 equity trades and 6,300 options trades in a customer's self-directed retail account in exchange for a share of the customer's profits. This profit-sharing arrangement was not disclosed to his member firm, and the firm did not authorize it.

Roper received $80,747 in profit-sharing payments from the customer. To conceal the arrangement, he took numerous steps to hide his conduct from his firm.

Additionally, Roper exercised discretion in the customer's account without prior written authorization. While the customer orally authorized Roper to exercise discretion, written authorization is required. The firm never accepted the account as discretionary.

Roper compounded these violations by falsely attesting in annual compliance questionnaires that his disclosures were complete and accurate, even though he did not disclose the discretionary account.

Furthermore, Roper exchanged thousands of text messages and emails with the customer using his personal mobile device, discussing account performance, trades, and profit-sharing payments. These communications were not provided to his firm, causing incomplete business records.

The two-year suspension runs from July 21, 2025 through July 20, 2027.

This case demonstrates multiple compliance failures: undisclosed compensation arrangements, unauthorized discretion, false attestations, and off-channel communications. Each violation independently warranted sanctions; together, they justified a lengthy suspension.