FINRA Fines ÍøÆØ³Ô¹Ïdbush Securities $850,000 For Allegedly Falsifying Client Statements
From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at ÍøÆØ³Ô¹Ï.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined ÍøÆØ³Ô¹Ïdbush Securities $850,000 to settle allegations that the firm falsified monthly client statements for five years.
ÍøÆØ³Ô¹Ïdbush, which employs 540 registered advisors in 40 branch offices nationwide, has agreed to pay the fine without admitting or denying any of FINRA’s investigatory findings. According to FINRA, ÍøÆØ³Ô¹Ïdbush “negligently misrepresented” monthly account statements sent to nearly 610 clients between 2013 and 2018 by indicating that 38 municipal and corporate bonds were making interest or principal payments when, in reality, the bonds were in default. While ÍøÆØ³Ô¹Ïdbush was notified that the bonds were in default, ÍøÆØ³Ô¹Ïdbush failed to inform the vendor it employed to maintain information about securities held by clients, according to FINRA.
FINRA additionally alleged that ÍøÆØ³Ô¹Ïdbush failed to reasonably review the accuracy of the monthly account statements, even after a vendor notified the firm in 2016 that it was misreporting bond default information. According to the settlement, ÍøÆØ³Ô¹Ïdbush also allegedly failed to delivery order execution and margin disclosures to nearly 14,900 clients between 2010 and 2020.
ÍøÆØ³Ô¹Ï LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.
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