Articles Posted in FINRA

Charles Schwab Corp.’s Lawsuit Against FINRA to Stop Enforcement Case is Dismissed by Federal Judge

Published on: May 16, 2012 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. The financial firm had sought to stop the SRO’s enforcement case against it over an allegedly illegal arbitration agreement.

Schwab had added a new provision to over 6.8 million customer account agreement that would prevent clients from beginning or joining a class action lawsuit against the broker-dealer. Customers would also have to agree that industry arbitrators wouldn’t be able to consolidate securities claims from different investors. (Both kinds of cases typically involve investors with smaller claims that are usually less than $10,000. Lawyers who oppose Schwab’s arbitration provision have said that it leaves many of these investors without a legal process to be able to recover any financial losses.) By February, more than 50,000 clients had opened accounts with Schwab since it had implemented its new arbitration provision.

However, FINRA does not let class actions go through its arbitration system and it prevents broker-dealers from limiting the ways in which customers can file claims in court that are not allowed in arbitration. In its enforcement case against Schwab, the SRO accused the brokerage firm of violating its rules by making clients waive their right to file a class action complaint against it. Schwab immediately responded with a lawsuit against FINRA.

Stockbroker Fraud News Roundup: UBS Puerto Rico Settles SEC Action for $26M, Morgan Keegan’s Bid to Get $40K Award Over Marketing of RMK Advantage Income Fund Vacated is Denied, and SEC Settles with Attorney Involved in $1B Viaticals Scam

Published on: May 11, 2012 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

UBS Financial Services Inc. of Puerto Rico (UBS) has agreed to pay $26.6 million to settle the Securities and Exchange Commission administrative action accusing the financial firm of misleading investors about its control and liquidity over the secondary market for nearly two dozen proprietary closed-end mutual funds. By settling, UBS Puerto Rico is not denying or admitting to the allegations.

Per the SEC, not only did UBS Puerto Rico fail to disclose to clients that it was in control of the secondary market, but also when investor demand became less in 2008, the financial firm bought millions of dollars of the fund shares from shareholders that were exiting to make it appear as if the funds’ market was stable and liquid. The Commission also contends that when UBS Puerto Rico’s parent firm told it to lower the risks by reducing its closed-end fund inventory, the Latin America-based financial firm carried through with a strategy to liquidate its inventory at prices that undercut a number of customer sell orders that were pending. As a result, closed-end fund clients were allegedly denied the liquidity information and price that they are entitled to under the law. UBS Puerto Rico must now pay a $14 million penalty, $11.5 million in disgorgement, and $1.1 million in prejudgment interest.

The SEC has also filed an administrative action against Miguel A. Ferrer, the company’s ex-CEO and vice chairman, and Carlos Ortiz, the firm’s capital markets head. Ferrer allegedly made misrepresentations, did not disclose certain facts about the closed-end funds, and falsely represented the funds’ market price and trading premiums. The Commission is accusing Ortiz of falsely representing the basis of the fund share prices.

In other stockbroker fraud news, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado has denied Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc.’s bid to vacate the over $40,000 arbitration award it has been ordered to pay over the way it marketed its RMK Advantage Income Fund (RMA). Judge Richard Matsch instead granted the investors’ motion to have the award confirmed, noting that there were “many factual allegations” in the statement of claim supporting the contention that the firm was liable.

Per the court, Morgan Keegan had argued that the arbitration panel wasn’t authorized to issue a ruling on the claimants’ bid for damages related to the marketing of the fund, which they had invested in through Fidelity Investment. Morgan Keegan contended that seeing as it had no business relationship with the claimants, it couldn’t be held liable for their losses, and therefore, the FINRA arbitration panel had disregarded applicable law and went outside its authority. The district court, however, disagreed with the financial firm.

In other stockbroker fraud news, the SEC has reached a settlement with a Florida attorney accused of being involved in a financial scam run by a viaticals company that defrauded investors of over $1 billion. The securities action, which restrains Michael McNerney from future securities violations, is SEC v. McNerney. He is the ex-outside counsel for now defunct Mutual Benefits Corp.

The MBC sales agent and the company’s marketing materials allegedly falsely claimed that viatical settlements were “secure” and “safe” investments as part of the strategy to get clients to invest. The viaticals company also is accused of improperly obtaining polices that couldn’t be sold or bought, improperly managing escrow premium funds in a Ponzi scam, and pressuring doctors to approve bogus false life expectancy figures.

McNerney, who was sentenced to time in prison for conspiracy to commit securities fraud, must pay $826 million in restitution (jointly and severally with other defendants convicted over the MBC offering fraud).

UBS Puerto Rico unit to pay $26.6 mln in SEC pact, Reuters, May 1, 2012

Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. v. Pessel (PDF)

SEC Files Charges Against Former Attorney for Mutual Benefits, SEC, April 30, 2012

More Blog Posts:
Stockbroker Fraud Roundup: SEC Issues Alert for Broker-Dealers and Investors Over Municipal Bonds, Man Who Posed As Investment Adviser Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud, and Citigroup Settles FINRA Claims of Excessive Markups/Markdowns, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 10, 2012

Commodities/Futures Round Up: CFTC Cracks Down on Perpetrators of Securities Violations and Considers New Swap Market Definitions and Rules, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 20, 2012

Institutional Investor Fraud Roundup: SEC Seeks Approval of Settlement with Ex-Bear Stearns Portfolio Managers, Credits Ex-AXA Rosenberg Executive for Help in Quantitative Investment Case; IOSCO Gets Ready for Global Hedge Fund Survey, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, March 29, 2012 Continue Reading ›

Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and UBS to Pay $9.1M Over Leveraged and Inverse ETFs

Published on: May 3, 2012 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), UBS AG (UBSN), Morgan Stanley (MS), and Citigroup Inc. (C) have consented to pay a combined $9.1 million to settle Financial Industry Regulatory Authority claims that they did not adequately supervise the sale of leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds in 2008 and 2009. $7.3 million of this is fines. The remaining $1.8 million will go to affected customers. The SRO says that the four financial firms had no reasonable grounds for recommending these securities to the investors, yet they each sold billions of dollars of ETFs to clients. Some of these investors ended up holding them for extended periods while the markets were exhibiting volatility.

It was in June 2009 that FINRA cautioned brokers that long-term investors and leveraged and inverse ETFs were not a good match. While UBS suspended its sale of these ETFs after the SRO issued its warning, it eventually resumed selling them but doesn’t recommend them to clients anymore. Morgan Stanley also had announced that it would place restrictions on ETF sales. Meantime, Wells Fargo continues to sell leveraged and inverse ETF. However, a spokesperson for the financial firm says that it has implemented enhanced procedures and policies to ensure that it meets its regulatory responsibilities. Citigroup also has enhanced its policies, procedures, and training related to the sale of these ETFs. (FINRA began looking into how leveraged and inverse ETFs are being marketed to clients in March after one ETN, VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short-Term (TVIX), which is managed by Credit Suisse (CS), lost half its worth in two days.)

The Securities and Exchange Commission describes ETFs as (usually) registered investment companies with shares that represent an interest in a portfolio with securities that track an underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs look to deliver multiples of the performance of the benchmark or index they are tracking, inverse ETFs seek to do the opposite. Both types of ETFs seek to do this with the help of different investment strategies involving future contracts, swaps, and other derivative instruments. The majority of leveraged and inverse ETFs “reset” daily. How they perform over extend time periods can differ from how well their benchmark or underlying index does during the same duration. Per Bloomberg, leveraged and inverse ETFs hold $29.3 billion in the US.

“These highly leveraged investments were – and still are – being bought into the accounts of unsophisticated investors at these and other firms,” said Leveraged and Inverse ETF Attorney William Shepherd. “Although most firms do not allow margin investing in retirement accounts, many did not screen accounts to flag these leveraged investments which can operate on the same principle as margin accounts.”

For investors, it is important that they understand the risks involved in leveraged and inverse ETFs. Depending on what investment strategies the ETF employs, the risks may vary. Long-term investors should be especially careful about their decision to invest in leveraged and inverse ETFs.

Finra Sanctions Citi, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Wells Fargo $9.1M For Leveraged ETFs, The Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2012
Leveraged and Inverse ETFs: Specialized Products with Extra Risks for Buy-and-Hold Investors, SEC
FINRA investigating exchange-traded notes: spokesperson, Reuters, March 29, 2012

More Blog Posts:
SEC to Investigate Seesawing Credit Suisse TVIX Note, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, March 30, 2012

Principals of Global Arena Capital Corp. and Berthel, Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. Settle FINRA Securities Allegations, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 6, 2012

Goldman Sachs to Pay $22M For Alleged Lack of Proper Internal Controls That Allowed Analysts to Attend Trading Huddles and Tip Favored Clients, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, April 12, 2012 Continue Reading ›

Texas Broker-Dealer Pinnacle Partners Financial is Expelled by FINRA Hearing Officer Over Allegedly Fraudulent Sales of Unregistered Securities and Private Placements of Oil and Gas

Published on: April 25, 2012 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

In a default decision, San Antonio broker-dealer Pinnacle Partners Financial, Corp. has been expelled by a FINRA hearing officer for Texas securities fraud. The company’s president Brian Alfaro has also been barred. The financial firm and its head are accused of running a boiler room, engaging in the fraudulent selling of unregistered securities and private placements for gas and oil, and making numerous misrepresentations related to these investments. Alfaro is also accused of taking some of the investors’ money to pay for personal spending and unrelated business costs. The default decision was issued after Alfaro failed to show up at the FINRA panel hearing.

It was a year ago that FINRA issued an indefinite suspension against Alfaro and Pinnacle for not complying with a temporary order to cease and desist from making fraudulent misrepresentations. The two parties, however, allegedly kept making them, in addition to omissions related to the sale and offering of specific oil and gas joint interests.

According to the hearing officer, the Texas securities firm and its president operated the boiler room between August 2008 and March 2011. 10 brokers made cold calls numbering in the thousands to draw in investors for drilling investments involving gas and oil that was controlled or owned by Alfaro. They were able to get over 100 investors to put in more than $10 million.

Allegedly, between January 2009 and March 2011, Alfaro misused some of these monies, which investors thought were going toward well production and drilling, to cover some of his personal spending and other businesses. The misrepresentations and omissions that they are accused of purposely making in numerous private placements about a number of matters, include those involving inflated natural gas prices, cash flow, gross returns, and projected returns for natural gas. For example, they allegedly gave out a document claiming that over $14 million had been distributed to investors when, in fact, that figure was closer to under $1.5 million. Alfaro and Pinnacle also supposedly got rid of unfavorable, key information from well operator reports and gave investors maps that didn’t show undesirable wells that were located close to sites where drilling was supposed to take place.

To make restitution, Pinnacle and Alfaro will have to rescind the contracts of those that invested in the fraudulent offerings. They also must pay back the sales commission to clients who don’t ask for rescission.

FINRA Hearing Officer Expels Pinnacle Partners Financial Corp. and Bars President for Fraud, MarketWatch, April 25, 2012
Texas broker-dealer expelled by FINRA hearing officer, Reuters, April 25, 2012

More Blog Posts:
Texas Securities Fraud: US Supreme Court Turns Down Ex-Enron Corp Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling’s Appeal to Have His Criminal Conviction Overturned, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 18, 2012
Texas Securities Fraud: State Law Class Action in R. Allen Stanford’s Ponzi Scam Not Barred by SLUSA, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, March 20, 2012
Three Oil Service Executives Face SEC Charges in Texas Court For Allegedly Bribing Nigerian Customs Officials, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, March 22, 2012 Continue Reading ›

Goldman Sachs to Pay $22M For Alleged Lack of Proper Internal Controls That Allowed Analysts to Attend Trading Huddles and Tip Favored Clients

Published on: April 14, 2012 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Accused of not putting in place policies to prevent analyst huddles, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) will settle for $22 million the allegations made against it by US regulators. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission and FINRA, due to the nature of the financial firm’s internal control system research analysts were able to share non-public information with select clients and traders.

To settle the securities case, Goldman will pay $11 million each to FINRA and the SEC. It also consented to refrain from committing future violations and it will reevaluate and modify its written policies and procedures so that compliance won’t be a problem in the future. The financial firm has agreed to have the SEC censure it. By settling Goldman is not denying or admitting to the allegations.

Meantime, FINRA claimed that Goldman neglected to identify and adequately investigate the increase in trading in the financial firm’s propriety account before changes were made to analysis and research that were published. The SRO says that certain transactions should have been reviewed.

This is not the first time that Goldman has gotten in trouble about its allegedly inadequate control systems. Last year, it agreed to pay $10 million to the Massachusetts Securities Division over ASI and the huddles. In 2003, the financial firm paid $9.3 million over allegations that its policies and controls were not adequate enough to stop privileged information about certain US Treasury bonds from being misused.

The latest securities actions are related to two programs that the financial firm created that allegedly encouraged analysts to share non-public, valued information with select clients. The SEC says that during weekly “huddles” between 2006 and 2011, Goldman analysts would share their perspectives on “market color” and short-term trading with company traders. Sales employees were also sometimes present, and until 2009, employees from the financial firm’s Franchise Risk Management Group who were allowed to set up large, long-term positions for Goldman also participated in the huddles.

Also in 2007, the financial firm established the Asymmetric Service Initiative. This program let analysts share ideas and information that they acquired at the huddles with a favored group made up of approximately 180 investment management and hedge fund clients.

The SEC contends that ASI and the huddles occurred so that Goldman’s traders’ performances would improve and there would be more revenue in the form of commissions. The financial firm even let analysts know that it would be monitoring whether ideas discussed at the huddles succeeded and that this would be a factor in performance evaluations. The Commission said that the two programs created a serious risk, especially considering that a lot of ASI clients were traders who did so often and in high volume.

Meantime, FINRA claimed that before changes were made to published analysis and research, Goldman would neglect to identify and adequately investigate the increase in trading in the financial firm’s proprietary account. The SRO says that there were certain transactions that should have been reviewed.

This is not the first time that Goldman has gotten in trouble over its allegedly inadequate control systems. Last year, it agreed to pay $10 million to the Massachusetts Securities Division over ASI and the huddles. In 2003, the financial firm paid $9.3 million over allegations that its policies and controls were not adequate enough to stop privileged information about certain US Treasury bonds from being misused.

Goldman Sachs to Pay $22 Million Over Analyst Huddle Claims, Bloomberg, April 12, 2012

More Blog Posts:
Ex-Goldman Sachs Director Rajat Gupta Pleads Not Guilty to Insider Trading Charges, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, October 26, 2011

Principals of Global Arena Capital Corp. and Berthel, Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. Settle FINRA Securities Allegations

Published on: April 6, 2012 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Harry Friedman, a principal of Global Arena Capital Corp. has agreed to a bar that prevents him from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority member. Although he has not admitted to or denied the allegations against him, Friedman has consented to the sanction and the entry of findings accusing him of not properly supervising a number of employees who used improper markups in a fraudulent trading scheme that, as a result, denied clients of best execution and the most favorable market price.

It was Friedman’s job to make sure that the head trader provided accurate disclosure on order tickets, such as when they were received and executed, the role that the broker-dealer played, and how much compensation the financial firm would get from each securities transaction. According to FINRA, Friedman either knew or should have known that order tickets were not being marked properly.

FINRA also found that Friedman, whose job it was to supervise and review trading activity involving his firm, failed to reconcile daily positions and trades in principal accounts. Also, per the SRO, Global Arena Capital Corp., through Friedman, did not set up, maintain, and enforce supervisory control policies and procedures that were supposed to ensure that registered representatives and others were in compliance with securities regulations and laws. Also, for three years, Friedman allegedly falsely certified that the financial firm had the necessary processes in place and that they had been evidenced in a report that the CCO, CEO, and other officers had reviewed.

In other FINRA-related news, Berthel, Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. registered principal Marsha Ann Hill has been suspended from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority member for a year. She also will pay a $20,000 fine.

Hill is accused of allegedly making unsuitable recommendations to a customer regarding the purchase of a variable annuity for $110,418.97 and two private placement offerings for $10,000 each. Per the findings, the transactions were not suitable because over 90% of the client’s liquid net worth had been placed in the variable annuity, which was illiquid and had a seven-year surrender period. (The SRO says that the private placement offerings were not only high risk, but also they failed to meet the client’s investment objectives.) Hill is accused of misusing the customer’s funds when she delayed the investments, resulting in her firm violating SEC Rule 15c3-3.

She also allegedly sold a private placement to an unaccredited investor. When her supervisor noted that this was an accredited-only investment, Hill erased certain information on the Account Information Form and put different yearly income, liquid net worth, and net worth amounts without letting her client know. Hill is settling the securities fraud allegations against her without deny or admitting to them.

Broker-Dealers are Making Reverse Convertible Sales That are Harming Investors, Says SEC, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, July 28, 2011
Despite Reports of Customer Satisfaction, Consumer Reports Uncovers Questionable Sales Practices at Certain Financial Firms, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, January 7, 2012
SIFMA Wants FINRA to Take Tougher Actions Against Brokers that Don’t Repay Promissory Notes, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, January 17, 2012 Continue Reading ›

FINRA Bars Registered Representatives Accused of Securities Misconduct and Negligence

Published on: April 5, 2012 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Registered representative Erick Enrique Isaac has turned in a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent that affirms his agreement to be barred from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority member. Although he isn’t denying or admitting to the findings, Isaac has consented to the described sanction and the entry of findings that claims he became affiliated with a member firm at the behest of a relative, a former registered representative who needed access to a broker-dealer to make trades for his clients.

While registered with the financial firm, Enrique allegedly gave trading directions from this relative to another firm representative, who then made the trades. He also allegedly started sending over hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions on those securities transactions to the relative.

FINRA’s findings contend that Isaac knew that his relative was controlling the trading in at least some of the client accounts that resulted in commission fees. He also kept sending the commission funds to the relative even after finding out that the latter was barred by the SRO from associating with a member firm.

Also submitting a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in another FINRA case is First Merger Capital, Inc. registered principal Mark SImonetti who is not allowed to associate with any FINRA member for three months.

FINRA accused Simonetti of knowing that registered representatives at First Merger Capital were paying the operators and co-owners of a branch of the financial firm (a foreign-based publicly traded company) $350,000 for unspecified services. Even though this should have indicated to Simonetti that the financial firm’s COO was not appropriately discharging his compliance and supervisory duties, he still allegedly failed to properly supervise the brokers to make sure that everyone disclosed all material information about this consulting agreement when soliciting clients to buy stock in the company.

Also, per FINRA, when the counsel for another foreign-owned publicly traded company referred clients, who were current and former company employees, to First Merger Capital, no one at the financial firm spoke to these new clients to make sure that the information they provided when opening the accounts was accurate.

The customers deposited more than 3.8 million shares of company stock. The company’s CEO, who was given control of the sales of the stock, then gave the order for company shares to be sold. More than $23 million of company stocks were sold. These were the only transactions in the clients’ accounts. Also, a number of branch owners and operators who took part in securities transactions netted commission as a result. FINRA says that SImonetti should have monitored, analyzed, and investigated these transactions to figure out whether they warranted a Suspicious Activity Report. As part of the settlement, Simonetti has agreed to participate in the FINRA Department of Enforcement’s investigation into this matter and to testifying truthfully.

FINRA Fines AXA Advisors $100,000 For Allegedly Not Firing Broker who Ran Ponzi Scam Sooner, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, March 16, 2012

FINRA May Surrender Proprietary BrokerCheck Lock, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, March 8, 2012

Citigroup Ordered by FINRA to Pay $1.2M Over Bond Markups and Markdowns, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, March 27, 2012 Continue Reading ›

Merrill Lynch to Pay Brokers Over $10M for Alleged Fraud Over Deferred Compensation Plans

Published on: April 5, 2012 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A Financial Industry Arbitration panel has ordered Merrill Lynch (BAC) to pay over $10 million to two brokers who claim the financial firm wrongly denied their deferred compensation plans to vest. Per the FINRA arbitration panel, senior management at Merrill purposely engaged in a scam that was “systematic and systemic” to prevent its former brokers, Tamara Smolchek and Meri Ramazio, from getting numerous benefits, including the ones that they were entitled to under the financial firm’s deferred-compensation programs, so that it wouldn’t be liable after the acquisition. The panel accused Merrill of taking part in “delay tactics” and “discovery abuses.”

Some 3,000 brokers left Merrill after Bank of America Corp. (BAC) acquired it in 2008. A lot of these former employees are now claiming that they were improperly denied compensation.

Smolchek and Ramazio alleged a number claims related to their deferred compensation plans’ disposition. Causes of action against Merrill included breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, constructive trust, conversion, defamation, unfair competition, tortious interference with advantageous business relations, violating FINRA Rule 2010, fraud, and negligence.

Broker employment contracts usually mandate that an employee stay with a financial firm for several years before they are entitled to vest the money they are earning in their tax-deferred accounts. However, several of Merrill’s deferred compensation programs allow brokers that have left the firm for “good reason” to have their money vest.

The FINRA panel expressed shock that after the departure of 3,000 Merrill advisers following the Bank of America acquisition, the firm did not approve a single claim for vesting that cited a “good reason” under the deferred compensation programs. Per Merrill’s own analysis, had it approved the vesting requests, the financial firm might have paid anywhere from the hundreds of millions to billions of dollars in possible liability.

Per the compensation ruling, Merrill has to pay Ramazio $875,000 and Smolchek $4.3 million in compensatory damages for unpaid deferred compensation, unpaid wages, lost wages, lost book, lost reputation, and value of business. The FINRA panel also awarded $1.5 million in punitive damages to Ramazo and $3.5 million to Smolchek.

The same day that the decision was issued, Merrill filed an appeal. The financial firm wants the ruling overturned, claiming that it never received a fair hearing and that panel chairwoman Bonnie Pearce was biased. Merrill contends that Pearce did not disclose that her husband is a plaintiff’s lawyer who sued the financial firm for customers and brokers in at least five lawsuits. Merrill is accusing Pearce of “overt hostility.”

Merrill Lynch Loses $10 Million Compensation Ruling, The Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2012

Merrill Lynch Savaged by FINRA Arbitrators in Historic Employee Dispute, Forbes, April 4, 2012

More Blog Posts:
Securities Claims Accusing Merrill Lynch of Concealing Its Auction-Rate Securities Practices Are Dismissed by Appeals Court, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, November 30, 2011

Merrill Lynch Faces $1M FINRA Fine Over Texas Ponzi Scam by Former Registered Representative, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, October 10, 2011

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Ordered to Pay $1M FINRA Fine for Not Arbitrating Employee Disputes Over Retention Bonuses, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, January 26, 2012

Citigroup Ordered by FINRA to Pay $1.2M Over Bond Markups and Markdowns

Published on: March 27, 2012 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

FINRA says that Citigroup Inc. subsidiary Citi International Financial Services LLC must pay over $1.2M in restitution, fines, and interest over alleged excessive markdowns and markups on agency and corporate bond transactions and supervisory violations. The financial firm must also pay $648,000 in restitution and interest to over 3,600 clients for the alleged violations. By settling, Citi International is not denying or admitting to the allegations.

According to FINRA, considering the state of the markets at the time, the expense of making the transactions happen, and the value of services that were provided, from July ’07 through September ’10 Citi International made clients pay too much (up to over 10%) on agency/corporate bond markups and markdowns. (Brokerages usually make clients that buy a bond pay a premium above the price that they themselves paid to obtain the bond. This is called a “markup.”) Also, from April ’09 until June ’10, the SRO contends that Citi International did not put into practice reasonable due diligence in the sale or purchase of corporate bonds so that customers could pay the most favorable price possible.

The SRO says that during the time periods noted, the financial firm’s supervisory system for fixed income transactions had certain deficiencies related to a number of factors, including the evaluation of markups/markdowns under 5% and a pricing grid formulated on the bonds’ par value rather than their actual value. Citi International will now also have to modify its supervisory procedures over these matters.

In the wake of its order against Citi International, FINRA Market Regulation Executive Vice-President Thomas Gira noted that the SRO is determined to make sure that clients who sell and buy securities are given fair prices. He said that the prices that Citi International charged were not within the standards that were appropriate for fair pricing in debt transactions.

If you believe that you were the victim of securities misconduct or fraud, please contact our stockbroker fraud law firm right away. We represent both institutional and individual investors that have sustained losses because of inadequate supervision, misrepresentations and omissions, overconcentration, unsuitability, failure to execute trades, churning, breach of contract, breach of promise, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, margin account abuse, unauthorized trading, registration violations and other types of adviser/broker misconduct.

Before deciding to work with a brokerage firm that is registered with FINRA, you can always check to see if they have a disciplinary record by using FINRA’s BrokerCheck. Last year, 14.2 million reviews of the records of financial firms and brokers were conducted on BrokerCheck.

FINRA BrokerCheck®

More Blog Posts:
Securities Claims Accusing Merrill Lynch of Concealing Its Auction-Rate Securities Practices Are Dismissed by Appeals Court, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, November 30, 2011

Merrill Lynch Faces $1M FINRA Fine Over Texas Ponzi Scam by Former Registered Representative, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, October 10, 2011

Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch Settles for $315 million Class Action Lawsuit Over Mortgage-Backed Securities, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, December 6, 2011

FINRA Fines AXA Advisors $100,000 For Allegedly Not Firing Broker who Ran Ponzi Scam Sooner

Published on: March 16, 2012 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

AXA Advisors LLC will pay a $100,000 fine to settle Financial Industry Regulatory Authority allegations that it delayed too long before firing a broker who was also the mastermind of a Ponzi scam. The financial firm turned in a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent prior to there having to be a regulatory hearing, without denying or admitting to the findings, and without an adjudication of any issue. AXA Advisors is a subsidiary of AXA Financial, Inc., which is an AXA Group member.

Kenneth Neely, a former registered representative, started working with AXA in its Clayton, Missouri office in August 2007. FINRA contends that already by then, Neely had been the subject of four client complaints. Three of these were securities arbitrations over business practices he employed with previous employees. (Prior to working at AXA, he was registered with Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc. and UBS PaineWebber, Inc.) The SRO believes that AXA also knew that Neely was having financial problems at the time.

Neely was permanently barred by FINRA in 2009 for running the Ponzi scam, which bilked its victims of $600,000. Many of the investors he defrauded belonged to his church. According to the SRO, Neely to conceal his financial scheme by having investors pay $2K to $3K to his wife. He also created fake invoices to make them appear as if they were actual ownership certificates. He did pay investors about $300,000. A lot of his investors’ money went toward supporting his extravagant lifestyle. Neely eventually pleaded guilty to the federal crime of mail fraud. He was sentenced to 37 months in months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $618,270.

Per the AWC, Neely started running a Ponzi scam in 2001 while he was still working at UBS. He continued his fraud operation while at Stifel and when he went to go work with AXA. He persuaded AXA clients, Stifel customers, and others to take part in the St. Louis Investment Club, which was a fake club and put their money in the St. Charles REIT, which was a bogus real estate investment trust. After he admitted to converting and commingling funds. AXA fired him in July 2009.

However, it was as early as 2008, when AXA conducted its yearly audit of Neely, that a review of his computer brought up an Excel spreadsheet noting eight people’s payment schedules. Per the AWC, these people were investors in Neely’s fraud. An AXA examiner asked Neely to explain the spreadsheet and the broker claimed that the figures were for showing a potential client/friend, who wanted to start a business, how to handle his finances. The AWC alleges that this explanation was a false one.

FINRA found that AXA failed to properly supervise or investigate Neely by not responding appropriately to the spreadsheet, his excuses, or the fact that he had a questionable history. AXA has now been both sanctioned and fined.

AXA Fined $100,000 For Not Axing Ponzi Broker Sooner, Forbes, March 15, 2012

Ex-AXA Broker Barred by Finra After Ponzi Scheme, New York Times, July 28, 2009

More Blog Posts:
Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. and AXA Advisors Broker Charged in Ponzi Scheme Victimizing Church Members, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, November 5, 2009
AXA Rosenberg Entities Settle Securities Fraud Charges Over Computer Error Concealment for Over $240M, February 10, 2011 Continue Reading ›