Advisory Firm Loses Bid To Suspend “Unfair” Virtual FINRA Hearing

Posted on September 20th, 2021 at 12:07 PM
Advisory Firm Loses Bid To Suspend “Unfair” Virtual FINRA Hearing

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law:

A Utah federal district court judge has rejected a bid by an advisory firm to suspend the remainder of a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) disciplinary hearing that was conducted via Zoom videoconferencing on jurisdictional grounds. 

Alpine Securities Corp. had sought to challenge FINRA’s order that the hearing be held virtually rather than in-person. The judge determined that he lacked the proper jurisdiction to hear the matter. He reasoned that there exists a detailed statutory scheme for reviewing FINRA disciplinary hearings that begins with an appeal to FINRA’s National Adjudicatory Council (NAC) prior to review by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and then by the courts. 

Alpine Securities is owned by John Hurry and operates out of Salt Lake City. Hurry is known for challenging federal regulators in court, including a U.S. Supreme Court case involving the SEC’s ability to enforce a federal anti-money-laundering law. FINRA’s enforcement division began to investigate Alpine Securities in August 2019 for allegedly charging clients “exorbitant and arbitrary fees” including raising a monthly account fee from $100 to $5,000 in an effort to cover “significant and mounting financial difficulties.” 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

 

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, finra, video conference

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