UBS Agrees to Pay $10 Million to Settle SEC Charges
From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:
UBS Financial Services Inc. has agreed to pay $10 million to settle charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC”) that UBS circumvented the priority given to retail investors for certain municipal bond offerings.
The SEC alleged that UBS allocated bonds that were intended to be sold to retail customers to “flippers,” who would then immediately resell the bonds to other broker-dealers for a profit. According to the SEC, UBS either knew or should have known that these “flippers” were not eligible for retail priority.
UBS entered into the settlement without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings. As part of the settlement, UBS will receive a censure and pay a $1.75 million penalty, $6.74 million in disgorgement, and $1.5 million in prejudgment interest. Additionally, UBS consented to a cease-and-desist order which finds that UBS violated the disclosure, fair dealing and supervisory provisions of Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Rules G-11(k), G-17, and G-27, as well as finding that UBS failed to reasonably supervise under Section 15(b)(4)(E) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The SEC also brought related charges against UBS registered representatives William S. Costas and John J. Marvin. Costas agreed to pay a total of $41,585 in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties. Marvin agreed to pay a total of $52,966 in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties.
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