Former Woodbury Stockbroker Ronald Walter Hannes Barred for Refusing to Provide Documents to FINRA

Ronald Walter Hannes of Spokane, Washington submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in which he was barred for allegedly failing to produce documents and information requested by FINRA in violation of FINRA Rules 8210 and 2010. From September 1986 to December 2019, Ronald Walter Hannes was registered as an Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Representative (IR) with Woodbury Financial Services (Woodbury). According to the FINRA findings, Ronald Walter Hannes allegedly refused to provide documents and information to FINRA during their investigation regarding the allegations that he converted customer funds. The FINRA findings stated that Woodbury terminated Hannes after receiving notice from a client that funds were paid to Hannes for the purchase of life insurance that were not sent to the company. Without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, Ronald Walter Hannes consented to the sanctions and has been barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities.

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Former Van Clemens & Co Stockbroker Peter Douglas Monson Suspended for Excessive & Unsuitable Trading

Peter Douglas Monson of Blaine, Minnesota submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in which he allegedly exercised discretion and engaged in excessive and unsuitable trading in violation of NASD Conduct Rule 2510(b) and FINRA Rules 2111 and 2010. In February 2014, Peter Douglas Monson joined Van Clemens & Co. as a General Securities Representative and General Securities Principal. According to the FINRA findings, Monson actively traded risky microcap stocks in a customer’s account without required authorization. The FINRA findings found that when Monson took control over the customer’s account, it had declined by 60% from investment losses, commissions charged for trades, and also from more than $138,000 in withdrawals that the customer used to help finance a family business. After the customer informed Monson of her cancer diagnosis he continued his frequent trading of microcap securities and did not curtail the amount of trading in her account or seek to reduce her risk exposure. In addition, FINRA stated that Monson allegedly had little contact with the customer and exercised discretion to decide what to trade, when to trade it, and what prices on more than 100 occasions during the same period.

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Alexander Capital Stockbroker Jody Ethan Thompson Suspended for Excessive and Unsuitable Trading

Jody Ethan Thompson of Seaford, New York submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in which he allegedly exercised discretionary trading and made unsuitable recommendations in violation of NASD Rule 2510 and FINRA Rules 2111 and 2010. From July 2015 to February 2019, Jody Ethan Thompson was registered with Alexander Capital as a General Securities Representative. According to the FINRA findings, Thompson made unsuitable recommendations to three different customers without understanding the potential risks and rewards of the various offerings. The findings stated that Thompson did not understand the restrictions on transfer and withdrawal of the investments, how the interest payments would be made to investors or the fee structure of the investments because he did not perform reasonable diligence. The FINRA findings also stated that Thompson allegedly exercised discretion by placing 40 trades in a customer’s account without written authorization from the customer or from Alexander Capital.

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Former Forest Securities Stockbroker Jeffrey Scott Nimmow Barred for Engaging in Private Transactions

Jeffrey Scott Nimmow of Merrimac, Wisconsin submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in which he was barred for allegedly engaging in unapproved private transactions and for not possessing the proper registration in violation of NASD Rule 1031 and FINRA Rules 3280 and 2010. From August 2015 to March 2018, Jeffrey Scott Nimmow was registered as an Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Representative with Forest Securities Inc. (FSI). According to the FINRA findings, he engaged in the sale of promissory notes of more than $3 million to 18 different investors without the proper registration. The findings stated that Nimmow submitted a request to FSI to add sales of promissory notes to his outside business activities but failed to provide notice of each proposed transaction. In addition, FINRA stated that Nimmow sold $3,365,000 in the promissory notes and received approximately $177,937 in commissions without being qualified or registered to offer or sell promissory notes to his customers. Without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, Nimmow consented to the sanctions and has been barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities.

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