Foreign Collusion, Naked Shorting (Counterfeiting) & Money Laundering — All Illicit Wealth
Apex Clearing Corporation Fined by FINRA
An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured, fined $250,000 and required to provide a written certification within 90 days that it has completed a review of its systems and procedures regarding SEC Rule 10b-16(a)(1), and as of the date of the certification, the firm’s policies, systems and procedures are reasonably designed to achieve compliance with the rule.
Wilson-Davis & Co., Inc. Fined by FINRA
The firm, Barkley and Snow appealed a National Adjudicatory Counsel (NAC) decision to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The NAC had affirmed the findings and modified the sanctions imposed by the Office of Hearing Officers (OHO). The firm was fined $1,100,000, ordered to pay disgorgement in the amount of $51,624, plus prejudgment interest and required to retain an independent consultant to recommend changes to its WSPs.
Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. Fined by FINRA
An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $150,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to reasonably supervise short-term trading of UITs and mutual fund Class A shares.
TD Ameritrade, Inc. Fined by FINRA
An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $250,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it created inaccurate order memoranda on options orders for customers whose orders should have been coded as Professional Customers. The findings stated that these orders were entered through the firm’s internal trading platform and routed to option exchanges through third party broker-dealers.
Microventure Marketplace Inc. Fined by FINRA
An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $40,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to file the private placement memorandum with FINRA in connection with those offerings. The findings stated that the firm also made one late private placement filing.
FINRA sanctions Citi, JPMorgan, LPL Financial, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, and Merrill Lynch
Mario Nikolova
Finance Feeds, 26 December 2019
The United States Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announces that it has sanctioned Citigroup Global Markets Inc.; J.P. Morgan Securities LLC; LPL Financial LLC; Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC; and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, over the firms’ failure to reasonably supervise compliance with FINRA’s “Know Your Customer” rule.
In settling this matter, the five firms paid combined fines totaling $1.4 million, and agreed to review their policies, systems, and procedures to ensure that they are reasonably designed to supervise custodial accounts and to achieve compliance with FINRA Rule 2090. The firms neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of FINRA’s findings.
FINRA and major Exchanges impose $6.5m fine on Credit Suisse Securities over supervisory violations
Maria Nikolova
FinanceFeeds, 23 December 2019
FINRA and the Exchanges found that for a period of four years, Credit Suisse did not establish a supervisory system reasonably designed to monitor for potential spoofing, layering, wash sales and pre-arranged trading by its DMA clients.
Lek Securities Corporation Fined by FINRA
An Offer of Settlement was issued in which the firm was suspended from selling or accepting for deposit any low-priced security until it certifies to FINRA® that it has implemented the recommendations of an independent consultant, fined $200,000 and required to retain one or more qualified independent consultants to conduct a comprehensive review of its supervisory system and its compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 obligations in connection with stock trading in low-priced securities.
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Fined by FINRA
An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured, fined $85,000 and required to revise its WSPs. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to record Not Held terms and conditions on its order memoranda for institutional customers of one of the firm’s trading desks and for those orders it transmitted reports to the Order Audit Trail System (OATS™) that failed to contain the Not Held special handling code.
Ekso Bionics Announces Closing of $5.0 Million Registered Direct Offering
GlobeNewswire, 20 December 2019
Ekso Bionics Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EKSO) (the “Company”), an industry leader in exoskeleton technology for medical and industrial use, today announced the closing of its previously announced registered direct offering of 11,111,116 shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase up to 8,333,337 shares of its common stock, at a combined purchase price of $0.45 per share and associated warrant, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $5.0 million.
SG Americas Securities, LLC Fined by FINRA
An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $30,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that employees on one of its trading desks entered invalid locate codes into the firm’s order management systems in connection with short sales involving exchange traded fund (ETF) shares.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Fined by FINRA
An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $130,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it effected customer sale transactions of municipal bonds on a discretionary basis in amounts lower than the minimum denomination of the respective issues.
First Financial Equity Corporation Fined by FINRA
An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $200,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to file amended Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer forms (Form U4s) for 20 of its registered representatives to disclose 71 outstanding liens, outstanding judgments, bankruptcies and creditor compromises in a timely fashion or, in some cases, at all. The findings stated that the firm failed to establish and maintain a system and failed to establish, maintain and enforce written procedures that were reasonably designed to achieve compliance with FINRA’s requirement to timely file Form U4 amendments to reflect reportable financial events.
Cowen and Company, LLC Fined by FINRA
An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured, fined $120,000, of which $44,400 is payable to FINRA, and required to revise its WSPs. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Rule 101 of Regulation M by bidding for a covered security and purchasing a covered security during a restricted period while acting as a distribution participant participating in a distribution of securities on behalf of an issuer.
IMPORTANT INVESTOR REMINDER: The Schall Law Firm Announces the Filing of a Class Action Lawsuit Against Aurora Cannabis Inc. and Encourages Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 to Contact the Firm
16 December 2019
The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit against Aurora Cannabis Inc. (“Aurora” or “the Company”) (NYSE: ACB) for violations of §§10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Read full release.
THE DOLLAR HAS NO INTRINSIC VALUE : DO YOUR ASSETS?
