Sergio M. Ripamonti

Broker/Dealer and Investment Advisor Fraud and Mirepresentation FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq.

March, 2012:

Sergio M. Ripamonti (CRD #2786045, Registered Representative, Sunny Isles Beach, Florida) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Ripamonti consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that he conducted a securities business with an unregistered person. The findings stated that Ripamonti took instructions from, and acted for the financial benefit of, the unregistered person, who needed access to a broker-dealer to place trades for his customers. Even after Ripamonti learned that FINRA had barred the unregistered person from association with a member firm, he continued to act as a broker-of-record for customer accounts clandestinely controlled by the unregistered person. The findings also stated that Ripamonti accepted and placed dozens of trades for customer accounts at the behest of the unregistered person; and facilitated the unregistered person’s unauthorized access to the customers’ account information stored on the member firm’s trading system, by providing the unregistered person with his password to the firm’s system. The findings also included that Ripamonti was reimbursed for certain expenses using commission monies generated from trades for the customer accounts controlled by the unregistered person. (FINRA Case #2010020869801).