According to FINRA, Robert Charles Mehlin Jr. was fined $7,500 and suspended for three months for exercising discretion without written authorization and using unapproved text messages for securities business. Mehlin traded without same-day authorization and falsely denied exercising discretion on compliance forms. He also used personal text messages to discuss investments, which were not captured by the firm. Off-channel communications prevent supervision and record retention. Mehlin asked a customer to deny his discretion use if questioned. Written discretionary authorization protects customers by documenting authority scope. Using unapproved channels creates risks of unsuitable recommendations going undetected.