FINRA

FINRA Orders Citigroup to Pay $11.5M, Including at Least $6M to Investors, Over Inaccurate Stock Research Ratings

Published on: December 29, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is ordering Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CGMI) to pay $11.5M in restitution and fines to resolve charges accusing the firm of displaying “inaccurate research ratings” on over 1800 stocks—that’s more than 38% of the stock that CGMI covers. According to the self-regulatory organization, the result of the inaccurate ratings was that a lot of customers ended up buying shares they wouldn’t have purchased otherwise if the right information had been provided.

Citigroup settled the case without denying or admitting to wrongdoing. The alleged inaccurate ratings would have been issued between 2011 and 2015.

According to the self-regulatory organization, CGMI showed the inaccurate ratings not just to retail customers, but also to its brokers and supervisors. These inaccuracies were caused by errors in the firm’s electronic ratings data feed that it provides to its clearing firm. As a result: the wrong rating was displayed for certain securities, ratings for securities that CGMI did not cover were provided, and/or the ratings for securities that the firm did rate were not displayed at all. The research ratings on CGMI’s actual research reports, to which brokers had access, were not impacted by these mistakes.

Financial Firm News: Raymond James Fined $2M Over Email Supervision, FinMa Finds JPMorgan Chase Responsible for Anti-Money Laundering Violations, and Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Other Big Banks Get Federal Approval for Their Living Wills

Published on: December 23, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Raymond James Financial to Pay Fine to FINRA Over Email Communications

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Raymond James Financial Services (RJF) $2M for not maintaining supervisory systems and procedures that were “reasonably designed” enough to oversee emails. The firm settled the case but without denying or admitting to the charges. It also agreed to a risk-based retrospective review of past emails for potential violations.

FINRA examined Raymond James’ email system “during a nine-year review period.” According to the self-regulatory organization, the system had significant flaws that allowed email communications to not undergo “meaningful review.” As a result, “unreasonable risk” was created that could have allowed for “certain misconduct” to go undetected. Also, the firm did not assign enough resources or staff to the team tasked with evaluating emails that had been flagged by the system, even as the number of flagged correspondence grew in volume.

FINRA said that Raymond James “unreasonably excluded” certain personnel who worked on customer brokerage accounts from “email surveillance.” The SRO claims that the emails of 300 registered representatives who were employed in branches with their own email servers were not subject to the “lexicon” of phrases and words for detecting emails that might merit review for potentially suspect conduct.

FINRA Cases: Ex-LPL Broker is Barred for Not Disclosing Role in Private Securities Transactions, Merrill Lynch is Fined $1.4M For Extended Settlement Transactions, and Noble Capital Markets Agrees to Pay $225K for Failing to Disclose Conflicts to Investors

Published on: December 19, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Former LPL Broker is Barred For Not Disclosing Private Securities Sales

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced a bar against Leslie Koonce, an ex-LPL(LPLA) broker. According to the self-regulatory organization, Koonce lied when he failed to disclose that he had engaged in private securities sales. Koonce allegedly pitched a private company’s convertible promissory notes to at least 30 potential investors.

The FINRA case contends that not only did Koonce help facilitate the transfer of $175K to at least three LPL customers so they could invest in the private securities, but also, he invested $50K of his own funds. All the while, said the SRO, Koonce failed to notify LPL in writing of his involvement in these transactions. When he filed out compliance questionnaires twice in 2012, Koonce denied any involvement in these types of transactions.

LPL fired Koonce in 2015. He later went to work with Cetera and then EK Riley Investments. The ex-broker no longer works in the securities industry.

Securities Fraud: FINRA Bars Two Ex-Wells Fargo Brokers Over Unsuitable Securities Sales, Pennsylvania-Registered Representative is Accused of $2.35M Ponzi Scam, and Digital Display Ad Company Allegedly Stole Over $2M from Retail Investors

Published on: December 13, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Ex-Wells Fargo Brokers Barred Over Unsuitable Energy Securities Sales
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred brokers Charles Lynch and Charles Frieda for making unsuitable recommendations to investors, resulting in substantial financial losses to the latter. Lynch and Frieda are former Wells Fargo (WFC) representatives who were based in Southern California. Both Lynch and Frida were fired from the firm. Previous to working at Wells Fargo, both men worked at Citigroup (C) and Morgan Stanley (MS).

According to the self-regulatory organization, between 11/12 and 10/15, the former brokers recommended an investment strategy revolving around certain speculative energy stocks to over 50 customers. These securities were volatile. Because investors became very concentrated in these energy securities, they were placed at risk of substantial losses.

FINRA contends that the two brokers did not do a proper job of making sure these investments were suitable for the customers to whom they were recommending these securities.

Securities News: Whistleblower is Awarded $4.1M, FINRA Bars Former UBS Broker Who Managed High Net Worth Investor, and Microcap Company Is Accused of Fraud

Published on: December 6, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

SEC Awards Whistleblower $4.1M
A company insider who notified the US Securities Exchange Commission about a “widespread, multi-year securities law violation” involving the employer, is getting a $4.1M whistleblower award. The individual, who is a foreign national employed abroad, also provided information and help during the regulator’s probe. Further details about the case have been kept confidential so as to protect the confidentiality and anonymity of the whistleblower.

This is the third whistleblower award issued this month by the SEC. The regulator awarded two other people $8M each for their help in another successful enforcement action.

To date, the SEC whistleblower program has awarded 50 whistleblowers over $179M.

FINRA Cases: Craig Scott Capital Expelled Over Excessive Trading Claims, CFD Investments Fined $30K to Resolve Inadequate Supervision Allegations Involving ETFs, and H. Beck Broker is Accused of Making Unsuitable Investment Recommendations

Published on: November 26, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Craig Scott Capital, LLC Loses FINRA Membership After Its Representatives Are Accused of Excessive Trading

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has expelled Craig Scott Capital, LLC over finding that three of the firm’s registered representatives allegedly engaged in excessive trading in the accounts of customers. The self-regulatory organization said that the charges imposed on customers, including markdowns, markups, and commissions, were not in line with the latter’s financial states and goals.

Now, FINRA is holding Craig Scott Capital accountable for the excessive trading, which it described as churning. This type of excessive trading involves making trades in a customer’s account in order to earn a commission.

FINRA is also accusing the firm of not putting into place and enforcing a “reasonable supervisory system” to prevent excessive trading and failing to properly supervise the registered representatives involved in the alleged wrongdoing so these behaviours could have been prevented. The regulator accused Craig Scott’s owners of not taking reasonable action even though they detected the red flags indicating that excessive trading might be taking place.

Securities Firms: JP Morgan Securities to Pay $1.25 For Inadequate Background Checks of Thousands of Employees and Gray Financial Group Settles with SEC Over Unsuitable Investments to Pension Funds

Published on: November 22, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

FINRA Orders JPMorgan Securities to Pay $1.25M
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said that J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (JPM) will pay $1.25M for not conducting proper background checks—or, in certain instances, conducting them but not in a timely enough manner—from 1/2009 through 5/2017 on 8,600 of its associated persons that were non-registered. According to the self-regulatory organization, this included the failure to properly fingerprint about 2,000 non-registered associated persons. The lapses kept the brokerage firm from knowing whether these individuals should be disqualified from employment.

Meantime, other non-registered associates persons who were fingerprinted were only screened for criminal convictions as they related to federal banking laws, as well as to list that was “internally created.” Still, said FINRA, four people who warranted disqualification due to a prior criminal conviction were allowed to work as non-registered associated persons.

Under federal securities laws, breakage firms must fingerprint certain associated staff even if they are employed in a non-registered manner because they could still pose a risk to customers otherwise. Fingerprinting allows for the identification of folk convicted of past crimes that may disqualify them from working for a firm in an associated role.

FINRA Bars NY Broker For Excessive Trading in Blind Senior Investor’s Accounts

Published on: November 9, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority hearing panel has barred New York broker Hank Mark Werner for excessive trading and churning in the accounts of an elderly, blind widow. Now, Werner must pay over $155K in restitution to his former client, disgorge more than $10K for commissions from recommending that she buy a variable annuity (VA) that was not suitable for her, and pay an $80K fine.

Werner is accused of employing an “active trading strategy” that allowed him to charge high commissions while making it “impossible” for her to “make money.” He was the broker of the widow and her blind husband, who died in 2012, for two decades.

According to the panel, the widow was in poor health and 77 years of age when he started churning her accounts after her husband passed away. FINRA, in its 2016 complaint, said that only was the client blind, but also she required in-home care. She relied on Werner to keep her abreast of her accounts.
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FINRA Cases: Ameritas to Pay $180K Fine Over Variable Annuity Sales, UBS Ordered to Pay Former Broker $3M for Defamation, and 13 Investors Awarded $5M After Losses Allegedly Caused by Ex-LPL Financial/Edward Jones Broker

Published on: November 4, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Ameritas Investment Corp. Must Pay $180K for Inadequate Supervision Involving VA Sales
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is ordering Ameritas to pay $180K for an inadequate supervisory system that oversaw its multi-share class variable annuity sales. The self-regulatory organization claims that between 9/2013 and 7/2015, the brokerage firm failed in its supervision of the VA sales and did not have adequate written supervisory procedures in place.

It was during this period that the firm sold almost 4,100 variable annuity contracts, making more than $58M in the process. 697 of the sales were L-share contracts, rendering approximately $11M. These types of contracts usually come with a shorter surrender period than the more common B-share contracts. FINRA believes that the broker-dealer failed to provide its registered representatives proper guidance on the different share classes that were for sale or on how to discern which ones would be best for each customer.

Fired Broker Will be Paid $3M by UBS
A FINRA arbitration panel is ordering UBS Financial Services (UBS) to pay $3M in compensatory damages to a broker that it fired. The Claimant, James L. Springer, had made numerous claims, including wrongful termination, emotional distress, negligence, unfair competition, breach of fiduciary duty, unpaid wages, and others.

Two Ex-Ameriprise Financial Services Brokers Settle With FINRA Over Margin Trades

Published on: October 24, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Former Ameriprise (AMP) Jack McBride has been ordered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to pay a $12,500 fine and serve a 40-day suspension over alleged violations involving margin trades. He was registered with Ameriprise from 1994 to 2014.

FINRA contends that it was during this period that he committed a number of violations, including settling a customer complaint without telling Ameriprise, sending emails that had inflated account values to two clients, and mismarking order tickets as unsolicited when they had been solicited.

Regarding the margin trade violations, the regulator notes in the Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent that McBride settled with one couple by sending them almost $12,845 from his personal account rather than reporting their complaint to Ameriprise. The couple was charged margin interest after incurring a margin balance because McBride mistakenly bought $320K in securities for them using their Ameriprise account that did not have the balance to cover the cost. They had multiple accounts with the brokerage firm.