503 search results found for “Boca Raton Florida Stockbroker Misconduct Lawyer”

Brown Brothers Harriman Receives Record $8 Million Fine for Anti-Money Laundering Violations

New York-based Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (BBH) consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the described sanctions and to the entry of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that BBH allegedly failed to have an appropriate anti-money laundering (AML) program in place to monitor and detect suspicious penny stock transactions. FINRA’s findings also stated that BBH did not sufficiently investigate suspicious penny stock activity, which had allegedly been brought to the firm’s attention, nor did BBH fulfill its Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) requirements. Further, FINRA found that BBH’s supervisory system was inadequate and allowed for the distribution of unregistered securities. FINRA’s findings also included that the firm allegedly knew that customers were depositing and selling large blocks of penny stocks and failed to more closely scrutinize these transactions as potentially being red flags for illegal unregistered distribution.

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Gregg Nussbaum Permanently Barred by FINRA for Exceeding His Trading Authority

Gregg N. Nussbaum, a former Registered Representative with West Palm Beach, Florida-based First Integrity Capital Partners Corp. (First Integrity Capital), submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) sanctions and findings that he intentionally exceeded his trading authority while a proprietary trader at First Integrity Capital. According to FINRA, Mr. Nussbaum, of Deerfield, Florida, had the firm’s authority to engage in riskless principal trading, in which he could simultaneously open and close a U.S. Treasury position of less than $5 million par value. FINRA claims Mr. Nussbaum did not open and close positions simultaneously but instead left the positions open for extended periods throughout the day. Moreover, it alleged he exceeded his firm’s $5 million par value limit. In order to accomplish this misconduct, FINRA found that Mr. Nussbaum intentionally submitted order tickets containing false execution times, in violation of FINRA Rule 2010 and NASD Conduct Rule 3110(a). Mr. Nussbaum’s alleged fraudulent activity caused First Integrity Capital to conduct securities business while net-capital deficient, which is in violation of the required minimum net capital of $100,000. As a result of his unlawful conduct, Gregg Nussbaum was permanently barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity.

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Niyukt Bhasin, Shondeep Balchandani, and Naveen Bhagwani of NSM Securities Named in FINRA Complaint for Numerous Industry Violations

Niyukt Raghu Bhasin, a former Wellington, Florida-based Registered Principal and founder, owner, President and CEO of West Palm Beach, Florida-based NSM Securities, Inc., was named a respondent in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) complaint alleging that the firm failed to create and enforce a supervisory system which resulted in many of the firm’s customers suffering significant investment losses. The complaint alleges that Bhasin’s non-compliance resulted in aggressive, unauthorized trading, numerous customer complaints and cold-calling abuses. Two of the firm’s Registered Representatives, West Palm Beach, Florida-based Shondeep Sajan Balchandani and Naveen K. Bhagwani allegedly engaged in churning and excessive trading, and made unsuitable recommendations to NSM Securities customers. FINRA’s complaint even goes so far as to refer to NSM Securities’ supervisory system as “grossly inadequate.”

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Timothy Ruggiero Permanently Barred by FINRA for Stock Price Manipulation

Timothy Burke Ruggiero, a former Plantation, Florida-based registered principal employed by Lazarus Asset Management, LLC and Evora Capital, Inc., also from Plantation, Florida, has been permanently barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). As we first reported back in December, 2012, FINRA had filed a complaint against the former Fort Lauderdale-based Brookshire Securities Corporation registered principal based on findings that Mr. Ruggiero intentionally manipulated stock prices, which violates Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. FINRAs findings further found that Mr. Ruggiero engaged in unlawful trades and forgery on order paperwork to show that there was supervisory review when, if fact, there was not. FINRA also found that Mr. Ruggiero, as the firm’s President and CEO, failed to supervise the trading and electronic communications of the firm, which resulted in illegal trading in violation of Regulation M. As a result of his unlawful conduct, Timothy Ruggiero was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity.

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Jack Kelly Barred by FINRA for Converting Customer Funds

Jack Richard Kelly, a former Millington, Tennessee-based registered principal employed by Duluth, Georgia-based PFS Investments Inc. submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the entry of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that he converted a total of $85,000 from customers. FINRA’s findings stated that a customer gave Mr. Kelly checks totaling $40,000 to be invested in a fund that Mr. Kelly had represented would provide 7% interest. The $40,000 in funds had been liquidated from a trust account held at Mr. Kelly’s firm that was intended to provide for the customer’s disabled sister. Rather than investing the $40,000 in the purported high-yield investment, Mr. Kelly converted the funds to his personal use. FINRA’s findings also stated that an elderly customer gave Mr. Kelly a total of $45,000 to be invested in the 7 percent investment, but Mr. Kelly again converted the funds to his personal use. As a result of his conduct, Mr. Kelly was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity.

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FINRA Fines Accelerated Capital Group for Violating Industry Rules and Firm Procedures

Irvine, California-based Accelerated Capital Group, Inc. submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which the firm consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the described sanctions and to the entry of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that its website contained misleading information and that it violated escrow account rules and procedures. The firm’s website contained fabricated testimonials and a world map that incorrectly suggested the firm had global offices and wanted to add 250 financial advisers. However, the firm had only two offices and omitted to state that its membership agreement limited the firm to 20 associated persons. FINRA’s findings also stated that two of the firm’s representatives maintained business-related websites that contained false, misleading, exaggerated, and promissory statements. The firm’s representatives distributed power point slides to investors that were unbalanced, failed to present a sound basis for evaluating the offered investment, and violated the prohibitions against exaggerated performance predictions and unwarranted performance claims and forecasts.

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FINRA Suspends Marylin Myers for Selling Away On The Edge Marketing Notes

Marylin T. Myers, a former Bayview, Texas-based registered principal employed by Lincoln, Nebraska-based Allstate Financial Services, LLC, submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which she consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the entry of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that she participated in the sale of a privately held company’s promissory notes to investors without notifying her firm or obtaining the firm’s written approval. FINRA’s findings stated that Ms. Myers recommended that investors, who were not the firm’s customers, invest in On The Edge Marketing LLC notes. Ms. Myers helped facilitate their purchases and invested $16,000 of her own money in the notes. Collectively, the investors and Ms. Myers invested more than $1,000,000 in the notes. To date, On The Edge Marketing has failed to repay the principal and interest due to the investors and Ms. Myers. FINRA’s findings also stated that on the firm’s annual compliance questionnaires, Ms. Myers inaccurately stated that she had not engaged in any private securities transactions and inaccurately stated that she had not engaged in soliciting, referring, or recommending any private placements or private securities products.

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FINRA Fines and Suspends Allen St. Amour for Selling Away Equity Indexed Annuities

Allen Wayne St. Amour, a former Traverse City, Michigan-based registered representative employed by Springfield, Massachusetts-based MML Investors Services, LLC and New York, New York-based NYLIFE Securities LLC, was fined and suspended based on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that he sold equity indexed annuities to his member firm’s customers without giving prior written notice to the firm. Mr. St. Amour allegedly received a total of $114,030 in compensation for the sales. FINRA’s findings also stated that Mr. St. Amour signed a customer’s name on documents related to the purchase of variable annuities in contravention of his firm’s rules and without receiving the customer’s written authorization to sign the customer’s name. Mr. St. Amour allegedly submitted the documents to his firm without informing anyone that he had signed the customer’s name. FINRA’s findings further stated that Mr. St. Amour failed to amend his Form U4 to disclose a fine the Indiana Commissioner of Insurance had imposed.

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FINRA Accuses Bruce Supanik of Misappropriating Customer’s Funds

Bruce Francis Supanik, a former Miami, Florida-based registered representative employed by Cincinnati, Ohio-based The O.N. Equity Sales Company, submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the entry of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that he failed to provide documents and information FINRA had requested and failed to appear and provide on-the-record testimony in relation to the events surrounding his member firm’s termination of his employment for allegations that he transferred the balance of a customer’s account. The balance was allegedly transferred to the joint checking account he shared with the customer and totaled $506,450.32. According to FINRA, Mr. Supanik then withdrew the balance from the joint checking account and deposited it into his personal bank account. FINRA stated that in view of Mr. Supanik’s failure to comply with FINRA’s requests for documents, information, and testimony, he hindered FINRA’s ability to fully investigate the matters at issue in this investigation. Mr. Supanik was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity.

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Brian Brunhaver Named in FINRA Complaint Alleging a Number of Industry Violations

Brian Harris Brunhaver, a former Snohomish, Washington-based registered principal employed by Boston, Massachusetts-based LPL Financial LLC, was named a respondent in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) complaint alleging that he used an unauthorized email account to communicate with customers and his assistant regarding his securities business. The complaint alleges that LPL Financial issued an adviser alert informing its registered representatives that they would be required to use either a firm-provided email address or an address approved by its compliance officers hosted with a firm-approved email host vendor. However, Mr. Brunhaver allegedly used both his firm-provided email address and a personal email account following the adviser alert for business communications without obtaining his firm’s permission. Mr. Brunhaver also allegedly allowed his assistant to use her personal email account for business communications.

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