Posts tagged ‘FINRA’
Brookstone Securities, Inc. fined by FINRA over sale of bridge notes.
Brookstone Securities, Inc. (CRD #13366, Lakeland, Florida) recently submitted an Offer of Settlement in which the firm was censured and fined $200,000.
Without admitting or denying the allegations, Brookstone consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that registered representatives, while associated with the firm, made misrepresentations or omissions of material fact to purchasers of unsecured bridge notes and warrants to purchase common stock of a successor company.
The findings stated that the registered representatives guaranteed customers that they would receive back their principal investment plus returns, failed to inform investors of any risks associated with the investments and did not discuss the risks outlined in the private placement memorandum (PPM) that could result in them losing their entire investment.
According to the findings, the registered representatives had no reasonable basis for the guarantees given the description of the placement agent’s limited role in the PPM. The findings further stated that the registered representatives provided unwarranted price predictions to customers regarding the future price of common stock for which the warrants would be exchangeable and guaranteed the payment at maturity of promissory notes, which led customers to believe that funds raised by the sale of the anticipated private placement would be held in escrow for redemption of the promissory notes.
Finally, FINRA found that the representatives recommended and effected the sale of these securities without having a reasonable basis to believe that the transactions were suitable given the customers’ financial circumstances and conditions, and their investment objectives.
This information which is publicly available on FINRA’s website has been provided by The White Law Group, LLC.
If you have questions about investments you made with Brookstone Securities, Inc, the securities attorneys of The White Law Group may be able to help. To speak with a securities attorney, please call the firm’s Chicago office at 312/238-9650.
The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.
For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.
Wunderlich Securities, Inc. fined by FINRA
Wunderlich Securities, Inc. (CRD #2543, Memphis, Tennessee) recently submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which the firm was censured and fined $50,000.
Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to supervise the personal trading of research analysts who maintained discretionary accounts at other firms. The findings stated that the firm’s WSPs mandated compliance department review of personal trading of research analysts but, as a matter of policy, the firm did not require compliance review of analyst accounts over which discretionary trading authority had been granted to a third-party manager or advisor.
As a result of that policy, the firm did not review the personal trading of two research analysts who held discretionary accounts at other firms. The findings also stated that the firm issued equity research reports that failed to comply with NASD Rule 2711(h) disclosure requirements. In some research reports in which it disclosed that it had served as manager or co-manager of a public offering of securities for the subject company in the preceding 12 months, it failed to disclose also that it had received compensation from the company for investment-banking services in connection with the offering. One research report failed to disclose that the firm had served as manager or co-manager of a public offering for the company in the preceding 12 months.
Research reports failed to disclose that the firm was a market maker in the subject company’s securities at the time the report was published. Some research reports were issued with indefinite disclosure regarding financial interests held in the securities of the subject company. Other research reports were issued with disclosures not prominently presented. The findings also included that, in connection with two public appearances by firm research department personnel, the firm failed to disclose its receipt of compensation from the subject company in the preceding 12 months. FINRA found that the firm maintained on its company website a list of all companies its research analysts covered, and for each company listed, the firm provided its current rating and price target for the company’s stock, but failed to include the disclosures mandated by NASD Rule 2210(d) and IM 2210-1(6)(a) with respect to potential conflicts of interest.
This information which is publicly available on FINRA’s website has been provided by The White Law Group, LLC.
To speak with a securities attorney, please call the firm’s Chicago office at 312/238-9650.
The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.
For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.
Sonenshine & Company LLC fined by FINRA
Sonenshine & Company LLC (CRD #104357, New York, New York) recently submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which the firm was censured and fined $15,000.
Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that for three years, it failed to establish, maintain and enforce an adequate system of supervisory control policies and procedures in that it failed to test and verify its supervisory controls and procedures. The findings stated that the firm failed to ensure submission to its senior management no less than annually a report detailing the firm’s system of supervisory controls and procedures. The firm failed for three years to complete an adequate annual certification of compliance and supervisory processes.
The findings also stated that the firm failed to provide for independent testing for AML compliance and failed to provide adequate ongoing AML training for appropriate personnel.
This information which is publicly available on FINRA’s website has been provided by The White Law Group, LLC.
If you have questions about investments you made with Sonenshine & Company LLC, the securities attorneys of The White Law Group may be able to help. To speak with a securities attorney, please call the firm’s Chicago office at 312/238-9650.
The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.
For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.
FINRA Arbitration Panel Demands Oppenheimer Repurchase Auction Rate Securities
According to a recent article from Reuters, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has ruled in favor of an investor who invested in Auction Rate Securities with Oppenheimer & Co. before that market failed in 2008. The panel reportedly ruled that the investor “was entitled to “recission of $5.98 million in New Jersey Turnpike auction rate securities that she bought in 2007…” In addition to repurchasing the nearly $6 million dollars’ worth of ARS, Oppenheimer must also cover legal fees in excess of $100,000. In the claim filed against Oppenheimer & Co., in addition to other allegations, they were accused of breach of fiduciary duty and negligence.
Reuters described that “Auction rate securities were sold as highly liquid short-term instruments similar to money-market funds, but with slightly higher returns,” but as a result of a massive market failure in 2008, “…large investment banks that ran the auctions ran into liquidity crunches, [and] thousands of investors were left with securities that could not be sold.
The freeze in the auction rate securities market caused major problems for investors and brokerage firms alike. Litigation followed and, as evidenced by this recent panel decision, continues. There may still be time for investors who suffered investment losses as a result of the purchase of auction rate securities (ARS) to pursue their investment losses through a FINRA arbitration claim.
The White Law Group may be able to assist investors damaged due to the purchase of auction rate securities in pursuing recovery of losses through the FINRA dispute resolution process. The White Law Group is nearly exclusively dedicated to FINRA arbitration proceedings on behalf of investors.
If you invested in auction rate securities (ARS) prior to the market failure in 2008 with Oppenheimer & Co. or another firm, suffered losses, and would like to speak to a securities attorney about your potential to recovery your losses through a FINRA arbitration claim please call our Chicago office at 312-238-9650.
The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.
For more information on The White Law Group, visit http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.
Elevation, LLC fined by FINRA
Elevation, LLC, a FINRA registered broker-dealer based in Charlotte, North Carolina, recently submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which the firm was censured and fined $10,000.
Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that it commenced an options business, engaged in options transactions and designated an individual as its Registered Options Principal (ROP) until his resignation from the firm.
The findings also stated that the firm did not notify FINRA of his resignation but instead continued to engage in options business without registering a new ROP. Additionally, the findings stated that the firm failed to establish, maintain and enforce an adequate supervisory system for its options activities, including written procedures, reasonably designed to achieve compliance with application securities regulations, and to supervise options transactions in which it engaged. The findings also included that the firm failed to comply with multiple requirements of FINRA Rule 2360, the options rule, by failing to comply with its registration and customer agreement requirements.
This information which is publicly available on FINRA’s website has been provided by The White Law Group, LLC.
If you have questions about investments you made with Elevation, LLC, the securities attorneys of The White Law Group may be able to help. To speak with a securities attorney, please call the firm’s Chicago office at 312/238-9650.
The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.
For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.