The following article was found on FINRA’s website:

Tradespot Markets Inc. (CRD #29683, Davie, Florida) and Mark Bedros Beloyan (CRD #1392748, Registered Principal, Davie, Florida)

submitted an Offer of Settlement in which the firm was censured and fined $25,000, and Beloyan was suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for one month and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any principal capacity for an additional month. In light of Beloyan’s financial status, 2 Disciplinary and other FINRA Actions October 2011 FINRA did not impose any monetary sanctions upon him.

Without admitting or denying the allegations, the firm and Beloyan consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that the firm, through Beloyan, sold over one billion shares of a low-priced stock that was neither registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nor exempt from registration. The findings stated that the firm, through Beloyan, its Chief Compliance Officer, failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system, including written supervisory procedures (WSPs), reasonably designed to ensure compliance with Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933, the applicable rules and regulations regarding the distribution of unregistered and non-exempt securities.

These findings also stated that the firm, through Beloyan, the firm’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Compliance Officer (AMLCO), failed to implement or enforce the firm’s AML program by failing to identify suspicious activity, properly investigate it, and report it through Form SAR-SF, as appropriate. The findings also included that the suspicious activity consisted of deposits of billions of shares of the low-priced stock of issuers in certificate form into accounts controlled by a person with a regulatory and criminal history, liquidated those shares generally soon after their deposit, and wired of the sales proceeds out of the accounts soon after liquidation.

The article states that FINRA found that despite the suspicious nature of a company’s activity in a stock, the suspicious nature of the activity of the company’s sole owner’s non-qualified account and his regulatory and criminal history, the firm, through Beloyan, failed to conduct the necessary due diligence to determine whether they were participating in a scheme to evade registration requirements, and generally relied exclusively on the firm’s clearing firm to determine whether the subject shares of stock were registered or exempt, and did not acquire a copy of the relevant stock certificates or documents regarding the owner’s acquisition of the shares, thereby participating in the illicit distribution of more than 1 billion shares of unregistered and non-exempt stock. FINRA also found that despite the presence of risk indicators and the appearance of the activity at issue on exception reports, the firm, through Beloyan, either failed to identify or chose to ignore the suspicious activity, and thus failed to investigate and report the activity in contravention of federal laws, NASD/FINRA rules and the firm’s AML policies and procedures. In addition, FINRA determined that the firm, through Beloyan, should have detected the suspicious nature of the activity, investigated the activity and reported it through a Form SAR-SF. Moreover, the firm, through Beloyan, failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system, including WSPs, reasonably designed to ensure compliance with Section 5, and failed to establish and maintain procedures regarding the distribution of such securities in connection with its clearing firm’s acceptance of the delivery of shares of stock in certificate form and customers’ subsequent sale of the same; the firm’s WSPs did not require an inquiry into whether deposited shares of stock were registered with the SEC or exempt.

The suspension in any capacity was in effect from September 6, 2011, through October 5, 2011. The suspension in any principal capacity is in effect from September 6, 2011, through November 5, 2011. (FINRA Case #2009017590801)

Securities Attorney, Lars Soreide, of Soreide Law, PLLC, has represented clients nationwide. If you or a family member have experienced a loss through Tradespot Markets, Inc., and/or Mark Bedros Beloyan of Davie, FL, call a Securities Arbitration Lawyer for a free consultation on how to potentially recover your losses.  To speak with an attorney, call 888-760-6552, or visit www.securitieslawyer.com.  

Soreide Law Group, PLLC., representing investors nationwide before FINRA  the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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In a September 7, 2011 article in InvestmentNews.com, Bruce Kelly writes that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA), living up to its warnings of this year, said today that it has fined several firms for overcharging for postage and handling.

The article states that in May, Finra chief executive Richard Ketchum warned an audience of brokerage executives at the self-regulator’s annual meeting in Washington that it was making inquires into firms’ overcharging clients.  Finra said it fined five firms a total of $910,000 for overcharging clients on handling transactions.

Mr. Ketchum earlier said: “We are taking a close look at excess charges for routine services, which some firms appear to be treating as an additional de facto commission. You can expect to see some enforcement activity in this area with respect to particularly egregious examples.”

Finra announced that the five firms were “understating the amount of total commissions charged to customers in trade confirmations and on fee schedules by mischaracterizing a portion of the commission charges as fees for handling services.”

The firms allegedly were using the practice to gouge clients, Finra said. “With respect to each of these firms, the handling fees were designed to serve as a source of additional transaction-based remuneration for the firm and thus were far in excess of the cost of the handling-related service the firms provided.”

InvestmentNews.com sites the five firms and respective fines as: Pointe Capital Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla., fined $300,000; John Thomas Financial of New York, $275,000; First Midwest Securities Inc. of Bloomington Ill., $150,000; A&F Financial Securities Inc. of Syosset, N.Y., $125,000; and Salomon Whitney LLC of Babylon Village, N.Y., $60,000.

Kelly writes that after Mr. Ketchum made his comments, brokerage executives said postage and handling fees charged by broker-dealers ranged from $3 or $4 to as high as $75 per transaction. Desperate for profits since the market collapse, some firms have been inflating postage and handling fees since late 2008, they said.

Finra said that, Pointe Capital charged a handling fee as high as $95 per trade, along with a commission. John Thomas charged as high as $75 per trade, and First Midwest charged as high as $99. A&F charged as high as $65 per trade, while Salomon Whitney charged as high as $69.

In settling Finra’s action, the firms agreed to implement corrective action to remedy the handling-fee-related violations, Finra said. In reaching the settlements, the firms neither admitted no denied the charges but consented to the entry of the findings.

Securities Attorney, Lars Soreide, of Soreide Law Group, PLLC, has represented clients nationwide. If you or a family member feel you have become a victim of stock/securities loss, call a Securities Arbitration Lawyer for a free consultation on how to potentially recover your losses.  To speak with an attorney, call 888-760-6552, or visit www.securitieslawyer.com

Soreide Law Group, PLLC., representing investors nationwide before FINRA  the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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WASHINGTON —It was announced July 20, 2011, on FINRA’s website that The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has suspended William Bailey, a former NEXT Financial Group, Inc. broker of Mesa, Arizona, from the securities industry for two years for unsuitable and excessive trading of mutual funds and variable annuities. Bailey also engaged in discretionary trading without receiving prior written approval from his customers.

It was reported that FINRA found between January 2006 and December 2007, Bailey recommended 484 short-term mutual fund switch transactions in seven customer accounts. In each of the accounts, Bailey, on his customers’ behalf, repeatedly sold mutual funds less than one year after purchasing them, and purchased new mutual funds with the proceeds. With Bailey’s frequent switches, on average, his customers held their mutual funds for only 60 days. The seven customers, who ranged in age from 66 to 93 and were all unsophisticated investors, incurred over $147,000 in sales charges and trading fees. Bailey received over $120,000 in commissions from these sales. To facilitate his mutual fund trading scheme, Bailey frequently traded in his customers’ accounts without first obtaining their permission and improperly completed customer account forms to make it appear the customers approved of the trading.

 In the FINRA article it was reported that FINRA also found Bailey convinced three customers to switch their variable annuities for new ones after holding them for a short period of time. These exchanges were unsuitable based on the customers financial objectives and needs, and did not improve the customers’ financial situations.

 Mr. Brad Bennett, FINRA Executive Vice President and Chief of Enforcement, said, “Brokers who engage in excessive trading will be held accountable. In this case, Mr. Bailey rapidly switched his elderly and unsophisticated customers in and out of mutual funds with high costs, providing a benefit to Bailey instead of to his customers.”

In settling this matter, Bailey neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of FINRA’s findings.

This information was obtained on FINRA’s website.

Securities Attorney, Lars Soreide, of Soreide Law, PLLC, has represented clients nationwide. If you or a family member feel you have become a victim of William Bailey or Next Financial Group, Inc., or a similar situtation, call a Securities Arbitration Lawyer for a free consultation on how to potentially recover your losses.  To speak with an attorney, call 888-760-6552, or visit www.securitieslawyer.com.

Soreide Law Group, PLLC., representing investors nationwide before FINRA  the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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In a June 20, 2011, article from Bloomberg News, it was reported that Massachusetts’ top securities regulator is suing RBC Capital Markets LLC and one of its former registered representatives over the sale of leveraged exchange-traded funds, saying they sold them to clients who didn’t understand how the investments worked.

The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, William F. Galvin, said RBC Capital and Michael Zukowski, a former agent, used “dishonest practices” in selling the funds, according to a statement e-mailed today. Galvin is seeking restitution to Massachusetts investors, a cease and desist order, and an administrative fine.

“The point of the complaint is not that the investors lost money,” Galvin said in the statement. “The dishonesty here is that the investors, and indeed the agent soliciting their investment, did not understand the workings of these funds.”

The Bloomberg article adds Galvin said that Zukowski, who worked in the firm’s Osterville office, sold clients “non-traditional” leveraged and inverse ETFs. Leveraged ETFs use swaps or derivatives to amplify daily index returns, while the inverse funds are designed to move in the opposite direction of their benchmark. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority warned investors and fund sellers in June 2009 that such ETFs might not be a good fit for long-term investors. Galvin opened a probe into the products in July 2009.

It was noted that RBC Capital is a subsidiary of Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada.

Securities Attorney, Lars Soreide, of Soreide Law, PLLC, has represented clients nationwide. If you or a family member feel you have become a victim of the sale of non-traditional ETFs by broker Michael Zukowski or RBC Capital Markets, LLC, of Massachusetts, call a Securities Arbitration Lawyer for a free consultation on how to potentially recover your losses.  To speak with an attorney, call 888-760-6552, or visit www.securitieslawyer.com.  

Soreide Law Group, PLLC., representing investors nationwide before FINRA  the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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In a July, 2011, article by Liz Skinner for InvestmentNews.com, she writes that Wedbush Securities Inc. was ordered to pay a former municipal sales trader Stephen Kelleher $3.5 million for failing to give him years worth of incentive-based compensation he was owed.

A three-person Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) panel found the firm’s “morally reprehensible failure and refusal to compensate” Mr. Kelleher in a timely fashion broke California’s labor laws. A “poorly written and ambiguous employment contract” was partly to blame, the Finra panel said.

According to the InvestmentNews.com article, Mr. Kelleher, who joined Wedbush in 2007, had requested $4.2 million in bonus compensation he was due, but is satisfied with the arbitration award. Mr. Kelleher resigned days after the arbitration case finished up and he is not working right now. Wedbush plans to appeal the ruling.

Wedbush had been paying Mr. Kelleher’s salary, but not the incentive comp that he was due writes Ms. Skinner. The arbitration panel also blamed “a corporate management structure” that required Edward W. Wedbush, the majority shareholder in the firm, to approve bonus pay to senior employees. That approval “was routinely withheld,” the Finra panel wrote. Another Wedbush employee testified that he also went for two years without receiving the incentive-based compensation due him.

Skinner goes on to say that Mr. Wedbush was originally named in the suit. Mr. Kelleher dropped the case against him during the hearing, however, after Mr. Wedbush requested to testify in person, which would have delayed the hearing.

Securities Attorney, Lars Soreide, of Soreide Law, PLLC, has represented clients nationwide. Call a Securities Arbitration Lawyer for a free consultation.  To speak with an attorney, call 888-760-6552, or visit www.securitieslawyer.com.

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In a June 29, 2011, article by Bruce Kelly for InvestmentNews.com he writes that as part of a settlement with eight states and the Securities and Exchange Commission, Raymond James Financial Inc. will buy back $300 million in auction-rate securities from clients and pay a fine of $1.7 million. The states in charge of the settlement are Florida and Texas. Other states involved were Indiana, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

It was reported that Raymond James has 30 days to extend an offer to repurchase the securities, and the offer must be open for 75 days after that initial bid.

Raymond James’ registered representatives and financial advisers told their customers that ARS were “cash equivalents” and “highly liquid” short-term investments that sported a higher yield than money market accounts, according to the consent order for the dispute.

Kelly goes on to say that Raymond James has been dealing with the ARS mess since the winter of 2008, when the market froze for billions of dollars of the securities, leaving institutional and retail clients locked into large cash positions. In August 2008, Raymond James said it was subject to investigations by regulators regarding the ARS sold be its registered reps to clients, who owned about $1.3 billion in paper at that time. Since then, the firm has been unwinding its position, but the issue of buying back ARS has been a thorn in the side of the brokerage for some time. In March 2009, the firm’s chairman and former chief executive, Tom James, said it was possible that Raymond James could sue an issuer of the securities, Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC, if it failed to buy back the securities from clients.

“These [issuing firms] are going to refinance; otherwise, as I’ve told them, ‘We’re going to sue you guys,’” Mr. James said at the time. “‘You don’t understand. We distributed for you guys, and you haven’t lived up to your obligations.’”

It was reported in the InvestmentNews.com article that Raymond James, which neither admitted to or denied the allegations, noted that it was fined by the states, not the SEC.

“Raymond James leadership worked diligently to facilitate redemptions by the issuers of ARS,” the firm said in a statement. “Client holdings at the firm were reduced from approximately $2.1 billion in February 2008 to $280 million this month.”

“I am pleased we are able to resolve this issue and provide liquidity to clients who continue to hold ARS in their portfolios,” said CEO Paul Reilly.

The $300 million buyback seems a large sum for Raymond James to pay, considering in May the B-D noted that “any action by a regulatory authority to compel us to repurchase the outstanding ARS held by our clients would likely be vigorously contested by us.”

What’s more, rival Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. yesterday won a major court victory stemming from its sales of ARS. A federal judge in Atlanta on Tuesday rejected SEC claims that the brokerage, a unit of Regions Financial Corp., misled investors about $2.2 billion in ARS. In announcing the summary judgment, U.S. District Court Judge William S. Duffey Jr. said “failure to predict the market does not amount to securities fraud.”

The above information was obtained from InvestmentNews.com.

Attorney Lars Soreide, of Soreide Law Group, PLLC, feels this is good news for many of his clients who have pending FINRA arbitrations against Raymond James Financial. If you or a loved one have purchased auction rate securities from Raymond James call Soreide Law Group, PLLC and speak to a Securities Arbitration Lawyer for a free consultation on how to recover your losses.  To speak with an attorney, call 888-760-6552, or visit www.securitieslawyer.com.

Soreide Law Group, PLLC., representing investors nationwide before FINRA  the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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The following information was posted on Raymond James’ website:

Raymond James Offer to purchase eligible auction rate securities

After providing ready liquidity to investors for over 23 years, in mid-February 2008 the Auction Rate Securities (ARS) market reacted to the unprecedented contractions in the credit markets, resulting in widespread auction failures. While some issuers have redeemed significant portions of their outstanding ARS, the market for ARS remains mostly illiquid.

To address this illiquidity for clients, Raymond James is offering to purchase eligible ARS that clients purchased through us.

Raymond James’ offer to purchase outstanding ARS comes after a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the North American Securities Administrators Association.

Purchase request process

Qualified investors will receive information with terms of and instructions for redemption by mail within 30 days of the public announcement (June 29, 2011). Clients who believe they are eligible and do not receive instructions should contact their financial advisor or Raymond James Client Services at 800-647-7378.

For ARS to be eligible for the purchase offer, the following must be true:

• The securities must have been purchased from Raymond James on or before February 13, 2008.
• Clients must have held those securities on February 13, 2008.
• Clients must currently own the securities or have sold them below par value.
• The securities must have failed at auction at least once since February 13, 2008.
• The securities must not have been called or redeemed, or be subject to calls or redemptions as of June 29, 2011.

In accordance with the settlement, Raymond James will continue to consider client inquiries until 12 a.m. September 30, 2011.

Pricing and fees

If clients accept the offer, Raymond James will purchase eligible ARS at par value, which is the face value of the security. They will also receive payment of interest or dividends, if any, at the rate established at the last reset date and will not incur any fees or commissions for transactions related to the purchase of eligible securities.

Other claims

Participating in this offer will not result in a waiver of any claims you may have against Raymond James. Important information on arbitration procedures that have been established to resolve any claims are available.

The above information was posted on Raymond James’ website.

Attorney Lars Soreide, of Soreide Law Group, PLLC, wants you to know that if you or a loved one DO NOT meet this criteria, call a Securities Arbitration Lawyer for a free consultation on how to recover your losses.  To speak with an attorney, call 888-760-6552, or visit www.securitieslawyer.com.

Soreide Law Group, PLLC., representing investors nationwide before FINRA  the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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In a June 28, 2011, article written by Darla Mercado for InvestmentNews.com, she writes that Finra’s variable annuity suitability rule should be old news to broker-dealers, but firms that want to avoid an arbitration land mine ought to review their procedures.

This warning came from Andrew A. Favret, associate vice president and regional chief counsel at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. Mr. Favret, along with Robert H. Watts, a Finra arbitrator and former compliance officer for John Hancock Financial Services Inc., held a boot camp on annuities at the Insured Retirement Institute’s Government, Legal & Regulatory Conference in Washington June, 27th. Both shared tales of broker-dealers’ missteps on following VA suitability rules and highlighted the red flags that likely would bring a firm under Finra’s suspicion.

“It’s funny how often firms have good procedures [for sales practices] and the reps will say they’ve never seen them,” Mr. Favret said. “Firms need to be able to show they have good procedures and that they’re getting the word out to their reps.”

Occasionally, Ms. Mercado writes, broker-dealers have been caught with outdated supervisory procedures and standards of conduct, and have been unable to give Finra an adequate explanation as to how the procedures were drafted or who exactly is responsible for ensuring that reps follow the rules. In some cases, the person responsible for providing supervisory approval at a broker-dealer had left the firm years ago, Mr. Favret said.

“Whenever Finra finds something, they look at who’s the nearest principal,” said Mr. Watts. “What did they do? What should they have done?”

The common pitfalls for firms include failure to have written supervisory procedures, failure to have appropriate policies and steps to assess suitability, and failure to document complete suitability information.

Mr. Favret also highlighted “the three C’s” that help determine whether Finra will pursue a case: concentration and how a firm justifies placing upward of 50% of a client’s net worth into a VA; costs and whether the rep took that into account when either selling or transferring a VA; and complexity — whether the customer knows what he or she is buying.

Finally, Finra began an initiative this year where it combed through data from five or six major VA issuers for data on concentration levels and the sales of VA riders, Mr. Favret said. It’s a way for Finra to highlight problem areas throughout the industry without having to rely solely on complaints.

“We had relied on customer complaints, which isn’t a very efficient way to get at problems in the industry; you’re looking for a needle in the haystack,” Mr. Favret said. Instead, data mining “is a big deal in terms of how we look at this going forward.”

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Securities Attorney, Lars Soreide, of Soreide Law, PLLC, has represented clients nationwide. If you or a family member feel you have become a victim of stock/securities loss, call a Securities Arbitration Lawyer for a free consultation on how to potentially recover your losses.  To speak with an attorney, call 888-760-6552, or visit www.securitieslawyer.com

Soreide Law Group, PLLC., representing investors nationwide before FINRA  the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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