Former Sagepoint Financial Broker Frederic O’Hara Suspended for Private Securities Transactions
Frederic Thomas O’Hara of Stuart, Florida submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in which he was suspended for nine months and assessed a deferred fine of $10,000 for allegedly engaging in private securities transactions, a type of broker misconduct known as selling away. Between February 2010 and August 2015, while registered with Sagepoint Financial, Inc., Frederic O’Hara allegedly engaged in private securities transactions without written notice or approval from his member firm. According to FINRA, Mr. O’Hara engaged in outside business activity by serving as a director of a private company without providing the required written notice to his member firm. Mr. O’Hara also participated in five undisclosed private securities transactions in that same company’s shares totaling $63,000, which included his own $10,000 purchase. The outside business activity and private securities transactions were violations of NASD Rule 3030, FINRA Rule 3270, NASD Rule 3040, and FINRA Rule 2010.
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