FINRA

FINRA Fines Piper Jaffray $700,000 for E-mail Retention Issues and Other Violations

Published on: June 7, 2010 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is fining Piper Jaffray & Co. $700,000 for violations related to the investment bank’s alleged failure to maintain about 4.3 million emails from November 2002 through December 2008 and for neglecting to tell FINRA about the issues it was having with email retention and retrieval. FINRA contends that this lack of disclosure not only affected Piper Jaffray’s ability to fully comply with the SRO’s email extraction requests, but it also may have impacted the investment bank’s ability to respond to email requests from other regulators, as well as from parties involved in civil arbitration or litigation.

By not disclosing that “it was not making complete production of its emails,” per FINRA Executive Vice President and Acting Director of Enforcement James S. Shorris, Piper Jaffray was “potentially preventing production of crucial evidence of improper conduct…” Shorris said email retention was a “critical regulatory requirement” for broker-dealers.

The broker-dealer was first sanctioned for email retention failure in 2002. Piper Jaffray settled by agreeing to reevaluate its systems and certify that it had set up systems and procedures that were aimed at preserving email communications. Since making that certification in 2003, Piper Jaffray has never indicated that it was experiencing system failures.

It wasn’t until FINRA investigators asked for emails that a former Piper Jaffray employee suspected of misconduct had sent and received that the investment bank’s ongoing email retention deficiencies were discovered. A CD-ROM sent by Piper Jaffray that reportedly had all of the employee’s emails was missing an email that had led to the internal probe. This investigation resulted in the employee’s firing and in FINRA making an enforcement action against the worker.

By agreeing to settle, Piper Jaffray is not admitting to or denying FINRA’s charges.

Related Web Resources:
FINRA Fines Piper Jaffray $700,000 for Email Retention Violations, Related Disclosure, Supervisory and Reporting Violations, FINRA, May 24, 2010
Retention issue: Finra fines Piper Jaffray over e-mail archiving, Investment News, May 25, 2010
Read the Letter of Acceptance (PDF)
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Citigroup to Pay $1.5 M for Supervisory Violations Related to Broker’s Handling of Trust Funds

Published on: May 28, 2010 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. has consented to pay $1.5 million in disgorgement and fines for failing to properly supervise broker Mark Singer and his handling of trust funds belonging to two cemeteries. By agreeing to settle, Citigroup is not denying or admitting to the charges. Also, the disgorgement amount of $750,000 will be given back to the cemetery trusts as partial restitution.

FINRA says that from September 2004 and October 2006, Singer and his clients Craig Bush and Clayton Smith were engaged in securities fraud. Their scheme involved misappropriating some $60 million from cemetery trust funds. Bush and Smart were the successive owners of the group of cemeteries in Michigan that the funds are believed to have been stolen from. Smart bought the cemeteries from Bush in August 2004 using trust funds that were improperly transferred from the cemeteries to a company that Smart owned.

When Singer went to work for Citigroup as a branch manager in September 2004, he brought Bush’s cemetery trust accounts with him. FINRA says that Singer then helped Smart and Bush open a number of Citigroup accounts in their names and in the names of corporate entities that the two men controlled or owned. The broker also helped them deposit cemetery trust funds into some of the accounts, as well as effect improper transfers to third parties. Some of the fund transfers were disguised as fictitious investments made for the cemeteries.

FINRA says that Citigroup failed to properly supervise Singer when it did not respond to “red flags” and that this lack of action allowed the investment scheme to continue until October 2006. As early as September 2004, Singer’s previous employer warned Citigroup of irregular fund movements involving the Michigan cemetery trusts. Within a few months, Citigroup management also noticed the unusual activity.

Citigroup failed to “conduct an adequate inquiry” even after finding out in February 2005 that Smart may have been making misrepresentations about his acquisition of hedge fund investments that belonged to the Michigan cemetery trusts and had used the hedge funds as collateral for a $24 million credit line. Although the investment bank had received a whistleblower letter in May 2006 accusing Singer of broker misconduct related to his handling of the cemetery trusts, it still failed to restrict Singer’s activities or more strictly supervise him.

Related Web Resources:
Citi Sanctioned $1.5M By Finra In Supervisory Lapse, The Wall Street Journal, May 26, 2010
Stealing from the dead, CNN Money, August 13, 2007 Continue Reading ›

Deutsche Bank Securities & National Financial Services Fined $925,000 for Regulation SHO Short Sale Restrictions & Supervisory Violations

Published on: May 22, 2010 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says that Deutsche Bank Securities and National Financial Services LLC have consented to be fined $925,000 in total for supervisory violations, as well as Regulation SHO short sale restrictions violations. By agreeing to settle, the broker-dealers are not denying or admitting to the charges.

FINRA claims that the two investment firms used Direct Market Access order sytems to facilitate client execution of short sales and that they violated the Reg SHO “locate” requirement, which the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted in 2004 to discourage “naked” short selling. FINRA says that while the two broker-dealers put into effect DMA trading systems that were supposed to block short sale order executions unless a locate was documented, the two investment banks submitted short sale orders that lacked evidence of these locates.

FINRA says that during the occasional outages in Deutsche Bank’s systems, short sale orders were automatically rejected even though a valid documented locate had been obtained. This is when the the investment bank would disable the automatic block in its system, which allowed client short sales to automatically go through without first confirming that there were associated locates.

As for NFS, FINRA contends that the investment bank set up a separate locate request and approval process for 12 prime clients that preferred to get locates in multiple securities prior to the start of trading day. With this separate system, the requests and approvals for the numerous locates did not have to be submitted through the firm’s stock loan system at approval time. Instead, the clients could enter and execute orders through automated platforms that lacked the capacity to automatically block short sale order executions that didn’t have proper, documented locates.

RBC Capital Markets, Olympus Securities, and Three Other Broker-Dealers Settle FINRA Accusations of Selling “Unregistered” Penny Stock

Published on: May 7, 2010 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

RBC Capital Markets Corp., Equity Station Inc., Fagenson & Co. Inc., Olympic Securities LLC, and Alpine Securities Corp. have consented to pay $385,000 to settle Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that they sold collectively over 7.5 billion in “unregistered” penny stock in Universal Express Inc. shares and made about $8.4 million as a result. By settling, the broker-dealers are not agreeing to or denying the securities fraud accusations.

FINRA says that “in each instance” the investment firm’s clients deposited certificates that consisted of huge blocks of thinly traded securities and then liquidated the positions right away. The firms conducted the sales even after a 2004 Securities and Exchange Commission complaint accused Universal Express of illegally issuing over 500 M shares in unregistered stock to be distributed to the public. The SEC claimed the company’s leaders put out bogus press releases and false and misleading statements to promote the sale of the unregistered stock.

According to FINRA:

• RBC Capital Markets reported making $68,000 in commissions from the unregistered stock sale. The broker-dealer has consented to a $135,000 fine.

• Equity Station made $13,575 in commissions. The investment firm is fined $25,000.

• Fagenson & Co. has agreed to a $165,000 fine and made $44,000 in commissions.

• Olympic Securities is fined $20,000 after making $5,200 in commissions.

• Alpine Securities is fined $40,000 for earning $13,575 in commissions.

FINRA says that even with numerous red flags, all five firms did not take the necessary actions to find out whether selling the securities would violate violating federal registration requirements. FINRA contends that when the five broker-dealers conducted the majority of the illegal unregistered stock sales the SEC had either began or won its case against Universal Express, which was eventually sanctioned almost $22 million.

Related Web Resources:
FINRA Fines Five Firms $385,000 for Sale of Unregistered Securities, Other Violations Relating to Penny Stocks, FINRA, April 27, 2010
Regulatory Notice 09-05, FINRA
SEC wins case against Universal Express, CEO, Business Journal, March 2, 2007 Continue Reading ›

Morgan Keegan Ordered by FINRA Panel to Pay Investor $2.5 Million for Bond Fund Losses

Published on: February 23, 2010 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel has ordered Morgan Keegan & Co. to pay investor Andrew Stein $2.5 million because the bond funds that he invested in had bet poorly on mortgage-related holdings. Panel members found Morgan Keegan liable for failure to supervise, negligence, and for selling investments that were unsuitable for Stein and his companies. The claimants, who sustained financial losses, had initially sought $12 million.

Stein’s arbitration claim is just one of over 400 securities claims that have been filed against Morgan Keegan over its bond funds that had invested in subprime-related securities, such as CDO’s (collateralized debt obligations). When the US housing market collapsed, the funds went down in value by up to 82%.

Stein contends that Morgan Keegan did not reveal the kinds of risks involved in investing in the bond funds. He and his companies claim that Morgan Keegan artificially increased the fund assets’ value so that the funds would appear more stable and investors wouldn’t be able to see the actual risks involved.

FINRA Fines H & R Block Financial Advisors (Now Ameriprise Advisor Services) over Sales of Reverse Convertible Notes (RCN)

Published on: February 17, 2010 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined H&R Block Financial Advisors (now Ameriprise Advisor Services) $200,000 for failing to put in place the proper system to supervise its reverse convertible notes (RCN) sales to retail clients. FINRA also suspended H & R broker Andrew MacGill for 15 days while ordering him to pay a $10,000 fine and $2,023 in disgorgement for making unsuitable RNC sales to a retired couple. MacGill recommended that they invest close to 40% of their total liquid net worth in RCNs. Meantime, H & R Block has been ordered to pay the couple $75,000 in restitution for their financial losses. Without denying or admitting to the charges, the brokerage firm and MacGill consented to the finding’s entry.

According to FINRA, between January 2004 and December 2007, H&R Block sold RCNs without a system of procedures in place to properly monitor whether possible over-concentrations in RCNs were taking place in customer accounts. FINRA says that the brokerage firm relied on an automated surveillance system to monitor client accounts and review securities transactions for unsuitability but that the system was not set up to monitor RCN placement in customer accounts or RCN transactions. This caused H & R Block to miss signs of when there were potentially unsuitable levels of RCN in client accounts. Furthermore, FINRA says that the firm failed to provide guidance to its supervisors regarding the assessment of suitability standards related to their agents’ recommendation of RCNs to the firm’s clients.

This is FINRA’s first enforcement action over RCN sales.

FINRA to Assess Amerivet Securities Inc. Allegations that Certain SRO Executives Received Excessive Pay in 2008

Published on: February 9, 2010 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

At a closed-door meeting scheduled for February 10, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority board of governors will preside over a closed-door meeting to assess allegations made by Amerivet Securities Inc. that certain FINRA executives, including chief executive Mary Schapiro, received excessive pay. The brokerage firm submitted a letter to the board last year demanding that action be taken to recover this compensation, as well as the SRO’s unprecedented portfolio losses” in 2008.

A release, filed by Amerivet’s securities litigation lawyers, alleged that in 2008, under Shapiro’s leadership, FINRA failed to warn investors about auction-rate securities risks, paid senior FINRA executives close to $30 million, failed to discover that R. Allen Stanford and Bernard Madoff were engaged in Ponzi scams, and sustained close to $700 million in losses.

FINRA Executives’ Pay

Schapiro was paid $3.3 million in bonuses and salaries in 2008. Per her accumulated retirement plan benefits, She also received approximately $7.2 million.

Another 12 current and ex-FINRA executives made over $1 million in 2008, including ex-chief administrative officer Michael D. Jones, who received $4.3 million in severance, compensation, and accumulated benefits after over 10 years at the SRO. Elisse Walters, now with the SEC, was paid $3.8 million ($2.4 million was supplemental retirement benefits), and Douglas Schulman, now with the IRS, was paid $2.7 million in salary, retirement benefits, and bonuses after over eight years of service.

FINRA has called Amerivet’s statements “part of an ongoing publicity campaign” involving a counsel and a party who have been in “litigation with FINRA.”

Related Web Resources:
Finra execs overpaid? The board wants to know, Investment News, February 20, 2010
FINRA

FINRA Board of Governors
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Number of FINRA Arbitration Claims Rose in 2009 Following Market Crisis

Published on: January 13, 2010 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to FINRA dispute resolution president Linda Fienberg, the market turmoil of the last two years has led to an increase in the number of arbitration cases filed, as well as a change in the the kinds of claims that are submitted. Fienberg made her statements before the DC bar.

7,134 arbitration files were submitted last year-a definite increase from the 4,982 arbitration cases filed the year before and the 3,238 arbitration cases submitted in 2007. Fienberg said that the number of cases filed goes up when stock prices go down. For example, when the dotcom bubble burst, nearly 9,000 arbitration claims were submitted in 2003.

Fienberg told the group that in the wake of the auction-rate securities crisis, more large corporations filed claims over frozen assets last year. The last two years also saw an increase in claims over mutual funds, making this type of fund the most common security cited in arbitration cases.

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Ordered to Pay $4.1 Million to Former Institutional Salesperson for Alleged Defamation and Wrongful Termination

Published on: January 7, 2010 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A FINRA arbitration panel is ordering SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. to pay $4.1 million to a former institutional salesperson who claims he was defamed in a regulatory filing and wrongfully terminated. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey is the corporate and investment bank services unit of SunTrust Banks, Inc.

Lance B. Beck, who worked for the company 19 years and sold debt securities, claims he was slated to gross more than $3 million when, following the auction-rate securities market collapse, he was let go. According to a regulatory filing for the former institutional salesman, his case against his former employer involves a $2.9 million ARS transaction with a institutional customer. SunTrust later decided to repurchase the securities.

Beck is accusing SunTrust of making disclosures on his Form U5 that were “devastating,” and prevented him from getting hired by other companies or take his book of business with him. Beck wanted certain language in the form, which brokerage firms have to submit to regulators when a broker leaves the company, expunged.

Even as FINRA Lost $696.3 Million in 2008, its Executives Made Millions

Published on: December 7, 2009 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Last year, 13 current and ex- Financial Industry Regulatory executives made over $1 million each, even as the regulatory organization posted a $696.3 million loss ($439 million in investment losses). Compensation included salary, retirement plan awards, and bonuses. This data, reported in Investment News, is found in FINRA’s latest tax reforms and annual report. Among the executives who received such hefty compensation in 2008:

• Michael D. Jones, former FINRA chief administrative officer: $4.43 million
• Mary Schapiro, now Former FINRA chief executive officer and now SEC Chairman: $3.3 million and $7.2 million for accumulated retirement benefits
• Elisse Walter, SEC commissioner: $3.8 million
• Douglas Shulman, who left the SEC in March 2008 to become Internal Revenue Service Commissioner: $2.7 million
• Susan Merrill, FINRA enforcement chief: Over $1 million

• Grace Vogel, FINRA member regulation’s executive vice president: Over $ 1 million
All employee compensation packages over $1 million was approved by FINRA’s management compensation committee.

FINRA’s compensation and benefits costs for its 2,800 employees went up 21.4% ($541.7 million) in (2008 from 2007) due to $30.3 million in benefit costs (including severance) from a larger retiree medical and savings plan and a voluntary retirement savings program. Also in 2008, another 400 employees joined FINRA’s payroll because of the company’s merger with NYSE Regulation.

Robert Ketchum, FINRA’s new chief executive , says that like everyone else, the SRO took a serious financial hit because of the credit crisis.

However, according to Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LTD LLP founder and securities fraud lawyer William Shepherd: “This is yet another chapter in the saga of ‘Who regulates the regulators?’ But first, you should know that FINRA is no ‘authority’ at all. Instead it is a non-profit corporation owned by each and every securities firm that it regulates! How many of us are regulated by an ‘authority’ that we literally own? This also means that just before she became Chairman of the SEC, Mary Schapiro received $10 million that was mostly tax deferred as a parting gift from all the securities dealers! Now there’s a real incentive to be tough on Wall Street! Oh, and did I mention that FINRA runs its own ‘court system’ for anyone that wants to sue a broker or securities firm? Sometimes I feel like I live in Oz.”

Related Web Resources:
Finra execs pocketed millions in ’08, while SRO was in the red, Investment News, December 3, 2009
FINRA
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