Palm Beach Gardens Firm and Principal Fined and Censured by FINRA

Soreide Law Group, (888) 760-6552, has obtained the following information on FINRA’s website under “Disciplinary and Other FINRA Actions, October, 2013.”

Delaney Equity Group, LLC (CRD® #142285, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida) and David Cameron Delaney (CRD #2447186, Registered Principal, West Palm Beach, Florida)

submitted an Offer of Settlement in which the firm was censured and fined $215,000. The firm was prohibited from directly or indirectly receiving, in any manner, any penny stock in any form, and prohibited from selling, for the benefit of any customer or firm proprietary account, any penny stock deposited with the firm (including through the firm’s clearing firm) by Automated Customer Account Transfer (ACAT) unless the stock has been held in the account for at least 180 days or has been beneficially owned by the accountholder, including the accountholders predecessors, if any, for the requisite statutory period not to be less than 180 days, and in amounts not to exceed the volume limitations prescribed by the applicable federal securities laws; or the stock is subject to an effective registration statement.

David C. Delaney was fined $40,000, suspended from association with any FINRA® member in any capacity for two months, and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any principal capacity for 13 months to run consecutively from the termination of the two-month suspension in any capacity.

Without admitting or denying the allegations, the firm and Delaney consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that the firm, acting through Delaney, its president, chief compliance officer (CCO) and anti-money laundering compliance officer (AMLCO), allowed a customer and its numerous affiliated accounts to sell almost a billion newly issued, unregistered equity shares of some issuers. As a result, the firm and Delaney participated in the distribution of almost a billion shares of unregistered and non-exempt securities.

FINRA's findings stated that the firm, acting through Delaney, failed to establish, maintain and enforce a supervisory system. The findings also included that the firm, acting through Delaney, failed to adequately implement anti-money laundering (AML) policies, procedures and internal controls, and enforce its AML compliance program (AMLCP) by failing to identify a customer who had a regulatory history, failed to detect highly suspicious activity, properly investigate the suspicious activity and report suspicious activity as required. FINRA found that the suspicious activity included the deposit, journaling, sale and wiring of the sales proceeds involving low-priced biotech stocks in accounts related to or referred by a customer with a regulatory history.

The suspension in any capacity is in effect from September 16, 2013, through November 15, 2013. The suspension in any principal capacity will be in effect from November 16, 2013, through December 15, 2014. (FINRA Case #2010021108301)

This ends the summation of information obtained on FINRA’s website.

Call Soreide Law Group for a free consultation on how to potentially recover your investment losses at: 888-760-6552.