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Former RBC Capital Markets Representative Submits Letter of AWC

Robert O'Keef, formerly a registered representative with RBC Capital Markets, LLC, submitted a letter of acceptance, waiver, and consent (AWC). O'Keef was registered as a General Securities Representative and General Securities Sales Supervisor with RBC from May 2006 to April 2014. He is currently not associated with any FINRA-registered firm. According to his letter of AWC, between October 1, 2012 and January 23, 2014, O'Keef exercised discretion in four customer accounts, without obtaining prior written authorization from the customers or prior written approval from his broker-dealer, a violation of FINRA Rules 2510(b) and 2010. O'Keef effected about 654 transactions in the securities accounts of the customers. All four customers had orally authorized O'Keef to exercise discretion in their securities accounts. However, O'Keef admitted that he did not obtain written authorization from his customers to exercise discretion in their accounts and that RBC did not approve these accounts for discretionary trading in writing. RBC prohibited the use of discretion, except in [...]

By |February 26th, 2016|FINRA, Press Releases & News|
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PIABA: Investors Owed Millions In Arbitration Awards Unable To Collect

According to the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA), FINRA is failing to help investors collect arbitration awards for damages from the brokers. Seventy-five FINRA arbitration awards, about a third of the 2013 total, are unpaid according to a report released by PIABA. That is $62 million in award money or about 25% of the total owed to investors for damages that year. PIABA, which is a not-for-profit bar association of attorneys who represent investors in securities arbitration and litigation, stated that those findings were "unconscionable." PIABA further claims that FINRA, which usually does not publish the percentage of total awards that go unpaid each year, is not doing enough to help the problem. The report claims that the majority of brokerage firms are underfunded, placing aside a "surprisingly" small amount of net capital that could be used to make those payments. "The arbitration award is meaningless if the broker or brokerage firm does not have the resources to pay [...]

By |February 25th, 2016|FINRA, Press Releases & News|
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FINRA Bars Broker For Market Manipulation

FINRA barred broker George Johnson from the securities industry for operating a manipulative trading scheme to artificially inflate the market price and trading volume for the common stock of IceWEB, Inc. FINRA additionally sanctioned Christoper Wynne, Johnson's supervisor, suspending him for two years in all capacities, barring him in a principal capacity, and fining him $25,000. Joseph Mahalick, a broker who worked with both Johnson and Wynne, was suspended for six months and fined $20,000 for falsifying firm records and has been barred from the securities industry in another action. All three worked for Meyers Associates L.P. in its Chicago branch during the time of the misconduct. FINRA discovered that over eight days, Johnson manipulated the market for IWEB by recommending that certain of his customers buy at increasingly high and artificially inflated prices while also recommending his other customers sell their shares, often matching trades between his own customers. FINRA also found that Johnson's motives for manipulating the stock [...]

By |February 23rd, 2016|FINRA, Fraud, Press Releases & News|
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Texas REIT Subpoenaed Following FBI Raid

Management of real estate investment trust United Development Funding IV, a hedge fund accused of operating as a Ponzi scheme, has been subpoenaed to turn over company documents to a grand jury. Last week, the FBI raided the REIT's offices outside of Dallas. While performing their search, “law enforcement officers served executive officers of the trust and certain other employees of the trust's advisor and its affiliates” with the subpoenas for company documents, according to a filing with the SEC. UDF IV share prices plummeted after the news of the FBI raid last week. Shares fell nearly 55% during trading on Thursday to $3.20 per share. That day, NASDAQ told UDF it was suspending trading of the Texas REIT. In the SEC filing, the company said that it did not “believe that it, its officers or the employees of its advisor and its affiliates have violated any laws or regulations, and the trust intends to cooperate fully with the government's investigation.” [...]

By |February 22nd, 2016|Fraud, Press Releases & News, SEC|
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