On July 21, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced an award of nearly $3 million to a whistleblower who alerted the SEC to previously unknown conduct that led to a successful SEC enforcement action. According to Emily Pasquinelli, Acting Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, the whistleblower “provided substantial additional assistance”…
Continue reading ›On July 19, 2021, UBS Financial Services Inc. (“UBS”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) settled charges related to UBS’s failure to adopt and implement written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent unsuitable investments in volatility-linked-exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) between January 2016 and January 2018. As a result of UBS’s supervisory failures, financial advisors…
Continue reading ›On July 15, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced an award of more than $1 million to a whistleblower. According to Emily Pasquinelli, Acting Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, the whistleblower “played a crucial role” by providing the SEC with valuable information and ongoing assistance. In 2021, the SEC has…
Continue reading ›**Update: November 11, 2021** On November 8, 2021, Aegis Capital Corp agreed to pay nearly $2.7 million in sanctions for supervisory failures related to excessive and unsuitable trading by its brokers from July 2014 through December 2018. Click on the following link to read more: Aegis Capital Corp. Ordered to Pay Nearly $2.7 Million for…
Continue reading ›**Update: November 11, 2021** On November 8, 2021, Aegis Capital Corp agreed to pay nearly $2.7 million in sanctions for supervisory failures related to excessive and unsuitable trading by its brokers from July 2014 through December 2018. Click on the following link to read more: Aegis Capital Corp. Ordered to Pay Nearly $2.7 Million for…
Continue reading ›The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred financial advisor Ronald Giovino from the securities industry for refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation into whether Mr. Giovino converted customer funds. FINRA launched the investigation after it received information through the FINRA Securities Helpline for Seniors. Mr. Giovino has been registered with GWN Securities Inc.…
Continue reading ›Iorio Altamirano LLP is investigating claims on behalf of Sanctuary Securities, Inc. (formerly David A. Noyes & Company) customers who invested in inverse and leveraged exchanged-traded funds. On July 1, 2021, Sanctuary Securities, Inc. and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 20190606942201 (“AWC”) over allegations…
Continue reading ›The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended financial advisor Gary Bowman from the securities industry for three months and fined him $10,000. FINRA alleged that between February 2013 through December 2017, Mr. Bowman engaged in an unsuitable pattern of short-term trading of Unit Investment Trusts in customer accounts. Mr. Bowman has been a stockbroker…
Continue reading ›The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred financial advisor Tyler Rigsbee from the securities industry for refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation. FINRA launched the investigation after Wells Fargo terminated Mr. Rigsbee in April 2021 and alleged that he “was terminated during the course of an internal review where documents appear to show…
Continue reading ›The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred financial advisor John Swon from the securities industry. Mr. Swon was expelled from the brokerage industry for refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation. FINRA launched the investigation after a customer complained that Mr. Swon misappropriated or mismanaged funds entrusted to him as an investment advisory representative…
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