FINRA publishes a quarterly review to provide firms with a sampling of recent disciplinary actions involving misconduct by registered representatives. The sample includes settled matters and decisions in litigated cases (National Adjudicatory Council (NAC) decisions and SEC decisions in FINRA cases). These summaries call attention to, and remind registered representatives and member firms of, specific […]

Kris Michael Thoresen (CRD #1940175, Registered Representative, Ponte Vedra, Florida) was fined $10,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for one year. Without admitting or denying FINRA's findings, Thoresen consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that he was aware of his member firm’s supervisory guidelines […]

Michael John Hester (CRD #3044429, Registered Representative, Tampa, Florida) was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Hester consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that he engaged in a private securities transaction by accepting checks totaling $20,000 from individuals to purchase […]

Alice Hale Everett (CRD #1867376, Registered Representative, Hialeah, Florida) was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the allegations by FINRA, Alice Everett consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that she failed to respond to FINRA requests for information regarding a possible private […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Stephen B. Blankenship, of New Fairfield, Connecticut, and Deer Hill Financial Group, LLC, a Connecticut limited liability company under Blankenship’s control, with a scheme to defraud investors. The SEC’s Complaint alleges that, from at least 2002 through November 2011, Blankenship misappropriated at least $600,000 from at least 12 […]

(FINRA publishes a quarterly review to provide firms with a sampling of recent disciplinary actions involving misconduct by registered representatives. This sample includes settled matters and decisions in litigated cases (National Adjudicatory Council (NAC) decisions and SEC decisions in FINRA cases). These summaries call attention to, and remind registered representatives and member firms of, specific […]

It's not just the rich or famous anymore. Many scam artists prey on people from all ages and walks of life, often targeting those they already know - perhaps they attend the same church or knitting club - in so-called "affinity fraud," writes Carolyn Said of the Houston Chronicle in a recent article. Victim advocacy […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking into the VelocityShares 2x Long VIX Short Term Exchange Note, managed by Credit Suisse Group AG, which had about $700 million in assets before the decline, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. The Massachusetts’s securities regulator and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) […]

In a recent MoneyWatch article, Steve Vernon writes that investment fraud and financial abuse targeting the elderly is a major problem today, according to a recent survey by the Investor Protection Trust and Investor Protection Institute. The top three ways in which seniors are exploited are: Theft of diversion of funds or property by caregivers […]