A FINRA panel has expelled John Carris Investments LLC, along with Chief Executive Officer George Carris from the securities industry. Bot are accused of suitability violations and fraud. According to the panel, Carris and JCI were reckless when selling shares of stock and promissory notes. They purportedly left out material…
Articles Posted in FINRA
PFS Investments, Ex-Broker Under Investigation for Securities Fraud that Bilked At Least Twenty Customers
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is accusing former broker Barkley Lundy, who worked with PFS Investments, of defrauding at least 20 customers. The self-regulatory organization claims that from at least 1/11 through 3/14, Lundy took these clients’ funds and placed the money in his own bank accounts. He also purportedly…
John Carris Investments Expelled by FINRA
A FINRA panel has expelled John Carris Investments LLC, along with Chief Executive Officer George Carris from the securities industry. Both are accused of suitability violations and fraud. According to the panel, Carris and JCI were reckless when selling shares of stock and promissory notes. They purportedly left out material…
FINRA Fines Fidelity $350K for Overcharging More than 20,000 Clients $2.4M
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says that Fidelity Investments must pay $350,000 for overcharging thousands of clients $2.4 million for transactions involving fee-based accounts in its Institutional Wealth Services Group. The overcharges are said to have occurred from 1/06 to 9/13. The group offers brokerage and trading services to investment…
FINRA Orders Pershing to Pay $3M Fine for Customer Protection Rule Violations
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. says that Pershing, a Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) unit, must pay $3 million for violations involving the Customer Protection Rule. According to the self-regulatory organization, for about nine months between ’10 and ’11, the clearing firm did not put aside the…
FINRA Releases Priorities for 2015, Gets SEC Approval for Background Check Rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority proposal mandating that broker-dealers conduct more rigorous background checks on new hires. Per the new rule, brokerage firms must implement written procedures for confirming the completeness and accuracy of a broker’s registration data on a Form U4. Firms…
Financial Firm News: NH Regulator Fines Merrill Lynch $400K for Telemarketing Compliance Shortfalls, Court Orders Vasquez Global Investments to Pay More Than $1.3M for Commodity Pool Fraud, and FINRA Sanctions Monex Securities Inc.
New Hampshire Says Merrill Lynch Must Pay $400,000 For Not Complying with Telemarketing Rules Bank of America (BAC) Merrill Lynch has consented to pay $400,000 to resolve claims made by the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation accusing the firm of improperly soliciting business when it called people who were…
FINRA Orders Wells Fargo Units to Pay $1.5M For Anti-Money Laundering-Related Lapses
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is ordering Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network (WFAFN) and Wells Fargo Advisors (WFA) to collectively pay $1.5M for anti-money laundering (AML) failures. According to the self-regulatory organization, the two brokerage firms did not comply with a main component of the anti-money laundering compliance program when…
WGF Investments, Deutsche Bank Securities, Royal Bank of Canada Subject to Fines for Securities Violations and Misconduct
FINRA Fines WGF Investments $700,000 for Supervisory Failures The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is fining WGF Investments $700,000 for failing to commit the attention, time, and resources to certain duties related to supervising registered representatives. WGF is a midsize independent brokerage firm. According to the self-regulatory organization, from 3/07-1/14, WGF…
FINRA Orders Merrill Lynch to Pay $2.4M in Fine, Restitution for Hundreds of Securities Transactions That Violated Fair Price Guidelines
FINRA is ordering Bank of America’s (BAC) Merrill Lynch to pay a $1.9M fine for violating fair price guidelines over seven hundred times during a two-year period. The financial firm also must pay restitution of over $540K to customers that were affected. According to the self-regulatory organization, Merrill’s credit trading…