Securities Fraud Law Firm Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LTD LLP Investigates Ray Londo, Londo Financial Group, and Linsco Private Ledger For Improper Lending/Borrowing of Client Funds

Securities fraud attorneys at the stockbroker fraud law firm of Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LTD LLP are investigating claims for clients of Ray Londo, Londo Financial Group, and Linsco Private Ledger (LPL). The firm is asking any clients of Ray Londo that lent him or anyone else in his company money to call (800) 259-9010.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Ray Londo was fired from LPL this year because of his failure to abide by company policy related to borrowing from or lending money to clients. FINRA registered representatives are not supposed to borrow money from clients or accept checks issued directly to a broker.

FINRA Rule 2370
FINRA Rule 2370 says that the borrowing or lending of money between customers and registered representatives is strictly forbidden except for when:

1) The broker-dealer has a written policy that allows for this kind of borrowing under specific circumstances.

2) At least one of the conditions must be met:
• The customer is an immediate family member of the representative or someone that the rep provides with material support.
• The loan is made available either to a financial institution that provides crediting, financing, or loans or a person that extends credit as part of his or her line of work.
• The registered individual and customer are both registered persons with the same member of the firm.
• The lending arrangement came about because of a personal relationship with the customer (outside of the broker-customer relationship) that made the loan possible.
• The customer and registered representative have a lending arrangement stemming from a relationship that is separate from the broker-customer relationship.

Related Web Resources:

Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LTD LLP Investigates Claims for Clients of Londo Financial Group, Ray Londo and Linsco Private Ledger (LPL), Marketwatch.com, October 17, 2008
2370. Borrowing From or Lending to Customers, FINRA