Former Edward Jones broker, Michael A. Erwin, agreed to pay a $2,500 fine and serve a 10-day suspension from association with any FINRA member firm in all capacities.
FINRA has proposed a rule change which would limit a registered person’s ability to be named as a customer’s beneficiary or hold a position of trust for a customer. The new rule would be known as FINRA Rule 3241.
Citadel Securities agreed to pay a $700,000 fine as well as an unspecified amount of restitution to settle alleged violations with FINRA Enforcement. According to FINRA Enforcement, Citadel traded ahead of certain inactive over-the-counter customer (“OTC”) orders, failed to consistently apply its written methodology to certain OTC customer orders, failed to display certain OTC customer limit orders and also had related supervisory failures.
Dain F. Stokes, a former advisor at LPL Financial, has been barred by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for allegedly soliciting investments in a fraudulent charity which Stokes claimed was associated with popular musician Taylor Swift. The SEC said it also plans to order Stokes to pay restitution and a fine of $20,000. Stokes was also barred by FINRA in September 2019 for allegedly failing to respond to FINRA’s request for information.
Former First Standard Financial broker, Frank Venturelli, agreed to pay restitution of $30,000 and to serve an 11-month suspension from association with any FINRA member firm in all capacities. According to FINRA Enforcement, Venturelli engaged in excessive trading in three customer accounts between July 2016 and November 2018.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) filed a Complaint against Adam James Makkai alleging that he shared commissions with an unregistered former coworker. FINRA Enforcement alleged that Makkai, a former LPL Financial advisor, shared commissions with a former LPL advisor who had been terminated.
In a Regulatory Notice, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) detailed amendments to its Membership Application Program (“MAP”) rules. The MAP rule amendments are designed to further encourage the timely payment of FINRA arbitration awards.
Stifel Nicolaus agreed to a censure and to pay $3.6 million in fines and restitution to settle alleged violations with FINRA Enforcement. According to FINRA Enforcement, Stifel failed to adequately supervise early rollovers of Unit Investment Trusts (“UIT”) and also sent letters to customers that contained inaccurate information about the costs associated with early rollovers of UITs. Of the $3.6 million sanction, nearly $1.9 million will go towards repaying customers.
Industry arbitrations filed in the first four months of 2020 increased 27% compared to the same time period in 2019, according to statistics provided by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). Through the first four months of 2020, FINRA has had 569 industry arbitrations, compared to 447 such arbitrations during the first four months of 2019. Conversely, customer arbitration claims filed against brokerages over the first four months of 2020 have decreased by 7% compared to the first four months of 2019. Many expect that the COVID-19 pandemic eventually will lead to an increase in investor arbitrations as well.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) announced new rules aimed at member firms and registered representatives who have unpaid FINRA arbitration awards. Pursuant to the new rules, FINRA may deny new membership to a firm or registered representative if that rep or firm has pending arbitration claims against them in which there is a concern about payment of a potential award. Additionally, the new rule will require firms with substantial unpaid arbitration awards to submit an application for continued FINRA membership and also subject these firms to heightened scrutiny by FINRA if those firms try to shift assets, management or owners to another firm.
It was really fun seeing you fight for us. You have an amazing way of thinking out of the box.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) imposed $59 million in fines in 2024, reflecting a 35 percent decrease from the previous year, according to an analysis by Eversheds Sutherland.
A FINRA arbitration panel has ordered former advisor Mark Sam Kolta to pay nearly $17.7 million in damages, plus interest and costs, to his former firm, National Securities, following allegations of breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) increased its enforcement actions in 2024, marking the first rise in disciplinary cases since 2016, as reported by AdvisorHub.
