FINRA Enforcement Actions – December, 2011

FINRA Arbitration Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq. is available for a free consultation if you have suffered investment losses relative to any of the matters set forth below:

Periodically, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) publically announces, on its website, enforcement actions that have either recently been settled by or commenced against broker/dealers and/or associated persons.

We review these settlements and filed actions each month and provide a brief description of those matters which we believe will be of interest to investors.

Please keep in mind that the complaints issued by FINRA represents FINRA’s initiation of a formal proceeding in which findings as to the allegations in the complaint have not been made, and does not represent a decision as to any of the allegations contained in the complaint. Because these complaints have not yet been adjudicated, you may wish to contact the respondents before drawing any conclusions regarding the allegations in the complaint.

Recently, FINRA posted a new online data base which provides access to copies of documents underlying certain of the matters discussed herein. Read More.

December, 2011:

Dawson James Securities, Inc. (CRD® #130645, Boca Raton, Florida), Albert James Poliak (CRD #1270681, Registered Principal, Parkland, Florida), and Douglas Fulton Kaiser (CRD #1674570, Registered Principal, Deerfield Beach, Florida) submitted Offers of Settlement in which the firm was censured and fined $90,000. Poliak, Dawson’s CEO, and Kaiser, who acted at times as both the firm’s head of trading and the Financial and Operations Principal (FINOP), were each fined $30,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA®- regulated broker-dealer in any capacity for one year. Read More.

December, 2011:

Institutional Capital Management, Inc. (CRD #41055, Houston, Texas) and Daniel Lee Ritz Jr. (CRD #1977521, Registered Principal, Katy, Texas) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which the firm was fined $65,000 and Ritz was suspended from association with any FINRA member in any principal capacity for four months. Read More.

December, 2011:

Internet Securities (CRD #102800, Oakland, California) and Michael Wayne Beardsley (CRD #2546470, Registered Principal, Oakland, California) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which the firm was censured, fined $12,500 and required to retain an outside consultant to review and prepare a report concerning the adequacy of the firm’s supervisory, and compliance policies and procedures, and supervisory controls; the report shall make specific recommendations addressing any inadequacies the consultant identifies, and the firm shall act on those recommendations. Read More.

December, 2011:

Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC fka Wachovia Securities, Inc. (CRD #19616, St. Louis, Missouri) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which the firm was censured and fined $350,000. Read More.

December, 2011:

Wunderlich Securities, Inc. (CRD #2543, Memphis, Tennessee) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which the firm was censured and fined $50,000. Read More.

December, 2011:

Amir Aqeel (CRD #5151040, Registered Representative, Tomrall, Texas) submitted an Offer of Settlement in which he was suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for two years. Read More.

December, 2011:

Xiomara Isabel Beach (CRD #5628107, Registered Representative, Long Beach, California) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which she was fined $7,500 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for 20 business days. Read More.

Carl Max Birkelbach (CRD #1177843, Registered Principal, Chicago, Illinois) and William James Murphy (CRD #1437087, Registered Principal, Midlothian, Illinois). was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

December, 2011:

Eric Lawrence Bloom (CRD #1742255, Registered Principal, Boca Raton, Florida) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

December, 2011:

David Leroy Carlson (CRD #1071647, Registered Representative, Simi Valley, California) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

Debember, 2011:

William Alexis Cronin Jr. (CRD #872542, Registered Principal, Madison, Connecticut) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $181,000, which includes disgorgement of $171,000 in commissions, and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for two years. Read More.

December, 2011:

John Christopher Garner (CRD #2842338, Registered Representative, Charleston, West Virginia) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

December, 2011:

Joseph John Giuliano (CRD #1411255, Registered Principal, Boca Raton, Florida) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from assoc
iation with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

December, 2011:

Mike Givilancz Jr. (CRD #2141251, Registered Representative, Weslaco, Texas) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

December, 2011:

Alan David Goddard Jr. (CRD #3019681, Reg. Representative, Boca Raton, Florida) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $10,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for 45 days. The fine must be paid either immediately upon Goddard’s reassociation with a FINRA member firm following his suspension, or prior to the filing of any application or request for relief from any statutory disqualification, whichever is earlier. Read More.

December, 2011:

Jason Sean Harrison (CRD #2628373, Registered Representative, Pearland, Texas) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $15,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for one year. Read More.

December, 2011:

Walter Louis Howerton (CRD #251564, Registered Principal, Modesto, California) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $12,500 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for six months. Read More.

December, 2011:

Timothy Michael McGinn (CRD #813935, Registered Principal, Schenectady, New York) and David Lee Smith (CRD #427284, Registered Principal, Saratoga Springs, New York) were barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

December, 2011:

Alan Stuart Pattee (CRD #3002976, Registered Representative, Lake Worth, Florida) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Most Recent.

December, 2011:

Steven Mark Peaslee (CRD #2285838, Registered Principal, Alexandria, Louisiana) submitted an Offer of Settlement in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

December, 2011:

Thomas Heflin Redmond Jr. (CRD #4116004, Reg. Representative, Carmel, Indiana) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

December, 2011:

Guy Eugene Richardson (CRD #2926034, Reg. Representative, Topeka, Kansas) was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

December, 2011:

David Alan Schams (CRD #1587140, Reg. Representative, Alma, Wisconsin) submitted an Offer of Settlement in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

December, 2011:

Michael Daniel Shaw (CRD #1571907, Registered Representative, Baton Rouge, Louisiana) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

December, 2011:

Isaiah Solomon (CRD #1112800, Registered Representative, Mitchellville, Maryland) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $15,000, which includes disgorgement of $8,600 representing the financial benefits he received from sales, and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for 18 months. Read More.

December, 2011:

Evan Taber (CRD #1892751, Registered Representative, Plantation, Florida) was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

December, 2011:

Joseph Alphonse Vitale (CRD #5223467, Registered Representative, Boca Raton, Florida) was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. The sanction was based on findings that Vitale failed to respond to FINRA requests for information. (FINRA Case #2009017585202).

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