According to FINRA, Robert Lee Golding was barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities for refusing to produce information and documents requested by FINRA during an investigation originated from a Form U5 filed by his member firm.

The firm filed the Form U5 disclosing that Golding voluntarily resigned after allegations that he electronically submitted non-genuine client signatures on annuity applications, misdated a company form, and communicated via text outside the company's monitoring platform. These allegations raise multiple serious concerns about Golding's conduct.

Submitting non-genuine client signatures on annuity applications constitutes forgery and could result in customers being bound to contracts they never actually authorized. This is a form of fraud that undermines the integrity of customer transactions and could lead to customers owning products they didn't want or understand. Misdating company forms can be used to backdate transactions or conceal timing issues, which is another form of falsification. Communicating outside the firm's monitoring platform violates supervision requirements designed to protect customers by allowing the firm to review all communications for potential misconduct.

By refusing to provide information and documents about these allegations, Golding prevented FINRA from fully investigating serious accusations of forgery, falsification, and supervision evasion. The permanent bar imposed reflects that these allegations were serious and that refusing to cooperate with the investigation was itself a severe violation.

Investors should understand that registered representatives who forge signatures, falsify documents, or evade supervision are engaging in serious misconduct that can lead to significant harm. This case demonstrates why cooperation with regulatory investigations is so important - when people refuse to answer questions about such serious allegations, it raises the inference that they have something to hide.