James P. Hilty Jr., Former Ocala, Florida Broker, Fined and Suspended by FINRA for Discretionary Trading Without Permission

The Florida law firm, Soreide Law Group (888-760-6552) obtained the following information on FINRA's website listed under, "Disciplinary and Other FINRA Actions March 2016."

James P. Hilty Jr. (CRD #5400513, Ocala, Florida)

was assessed a deferred fine of $5,000 and suspended by FINRA for 45 days for allegedly effecting discretionary transactions in the securities accounts of clients without obtaining the clients’ prior written authorization or his member firm’s approval of the accounts as discretionary.

FINRA's findings stated that none of the clients were aware of the trades at the time they were made, but instead had previously spoken with James P. Hilty Jr. regarding a trading strategy. Hilty failed to discuss the subject trades with the clients prior to making the trades, and failed to discuss the transactions with the clients on the day of the trade.

The member firm prohibits the use of discretion in client accounts other than time and price discretion, and does not approve customer accounts for discretionary trading. As a result, the clients’ accounts were not approved for discretionary trading. The firm later canceled the transactions.

The suspension was in effect from February 1, 2016, through March 16, 2016.

(FINRA Case#2014041875801)

James P. Hilty Jr. was in the securities industry for six years and was previously registered with the following firms:

08/2014 - 10/2014 BB&T INVESTMENT SERVICES, INC. - OCALA, FL

09/2007 - 07/2014 EDWARD JONES - OCALA, FL

If you were a client of James P. Hilty Jr., of Ocala, Florida, or another broker who may have traded in your account without your permission and you experienced investment losses, call the Florida-based Soreide Law Group for a no-cost consultation regarding the possibility of recovery at: 888-760-6552.

Soreide Law Group represents clients nationwide in front of FINRA.

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