The self-regulatory body that monitors the conduct of financial professionals just issued its results for last month. The following are just a sampling of the summaries it provided:
Greenbird
Capital, LLC (CRD #306692, Boca Raton, Florida)
July
24, 2025 - An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $50,000.
Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions
and to the entry of findings that it lacked a system reasonably designed to
supervise solicitations of private placement offerings. The findings stated
that the firm’s written procedures did not prohibit registered representatives
from engaging in a general solicitation of such offerings or provide any
guidance on what constituted a pre-existing, substantive relationship. In
addition, the firm did not have a system to reasonably monitor and document
when the firm had established a substantive relationship with a prospective
investor, or to confirm, before a prospective investor was solicited for an
offering, that the firm had such a relationship with that investor. In
connection with the offerings, registered representatives made hundreds of
thousands of calls to prospective investors without a reasonable system to
ensure that the firm established substantive relationships with those
individuals prior to soliciting the individual for a specific investment. The
findings also stated that the firm failed to establish, maintain, and enforce a
system reasonably designed to achieve compliance with FINRA’s telemarketing
rules. The firm had no system or procedure to monitor outbound calls made by
the firm’s registered representatives for number on the national do-not-call
list. In addition, although a principal of the firm occasionally checked
whether registered representatives called customers during the times permitted
by FINRA Rule 3230, the firm did not specify when, or how often, such reviews
took place. Subsequently, the firm implemented the use of a pre-existing
relationship form, revised its WSPs to include language addressing general
solicitation and the pre-existing relationship form, and stopped engaging in
cold calling. (FINRA Case #2023077022001)
Noble
Capital Markets, Inc. (CRD #15768, Boca Raton, Florida)
July 29, 2025 – An AWC was issued in
which the firm was censured and fined $45,000. Without admitting or denying the
findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that
it failed to establish, maintain, and enforce a supervisory system, including
WSPs, reasonably designed to achieve compliance with provisions of the federal
securities laws related to the general solicitation of private placement
offerings. The findings stated that the firm’s WSPs failed to address Rule
506(b) of Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933, and incorrectly permitted
the general solicitation of all private placements sold in reliance on Rule
506(b) as long as the prospective investors met certain suitability
qualifications. The firm’s WSPs also failed to provide guidance on the need to
establish a pre-existing, substantive relationship with prospective investors
or address how designated supervisors should ensure the firm had established
such a relationship. In addition, the firm also had no process to check whether
private placement investors had pre-existing, substantive relationships with it
even in the case of investors who first opened accounts at the firm after its
participation in the offering. The findings also stated that the firm failed to
reasonably supervise a registered representative who, in connection with two
private offerings, cold-called more than 40 prospective investors who did not
have substantive relationships with the firm prior to its participation in the
offerings. Seven of the investors invested a total of $775,000 in one of the
private placement offerings. The firm later revised its WSPs to provide updated
guidance to the firm’s registered representatives and supervisors on the
requirements of Regulation D. (FINRA Case #2020065533402)
Eric
Anthony Dupre (CRD #2174456, San Antonio, Texas)
July 17, 2025 – An AWC was issued in
which Dupre was barred from association with any FINRA member in al capacities.
Without admitting or denying the findings, Dupre consented to the sanction and
to the entry of findings that he borrowed at least $2,236,000 from two
customers without providing prior notice to, or obtaining written approval from,
his member firm. The findings stated that Dupre borrowed $65,000 from a married
couple, who were his customers, which Dupre repaid. Dupre also borrowed at
least $2,171,000 through a series of loans from a senior customer. Dupre told
the senior customer that he would pay back the principal of the loan plus an
additional amount. Dupre needed the loans because he was experiencing financial
difficulties. To loan a significant portion of the funds to Dupre, the senior
customer borrowed funds on margin from his account, which he transferred to a
personal bank account before loaning to Dupre. As a result, the senior customer
incurred substantial margin debt. Given Dupre’s financial circumstances at the
time he borrowed the money from the customer, he did not have a reasonable
expectation of repaying the loans, and to date, he has not repaid any portion
of the funds loaned to him by the senior customer. (FINRA Case #2023079280501)
Calvin
Lee Gray (CRD #7575351, Salem, Missouri)
July 21, 2025 – An OHO decision became final in which Gray was barred from associating with any FINRA member in all capacities for failing to produce information and documents requested by FINRA during its investigation. The sanctions were based on the findings that Gray’s member firm informed FINRA that he had been indicted in June 2024 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, fraud in connection with identification documents, aggravated identity theft, and other chargers. The findings stated that the indictment alleged that, using account information that he stole from the firm, Gray obtained credit and debit cards that he used to make fraudulent purchases and transfer money to his control. FINRA’s investigation included trying to determine whether Gray had committed fraud or had engaged in identity theft since August 27, 2024, in a county jail in Salem, Missouri. On April 21, 2025, Gray pled guilty to the criminal charges and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 29, 2025. (FINRA Case #2024083063101)
Donald
Franklin Spivey (CRD #847360, Camden, South Carolina)
July 21, 2025 – An AWC was issued in
which Spivey was barred from association with any FINRA member in all
capacities. Without admitting or denying the findings, Spivey consented to the
sanction and to the entry of findings that he refused to appear for on-the-record
testimony requested by FINRA in connection with its investigation into whether
certain recommendations were suitable for or in the best interests of retail
customers. The findings stated that Spivey initially cooperated with FINRA’s
investigation but ceased doing so. (FINRA Case #2023078794801)
Meredith
Archer Webber (CRD #2435263, Cobleskill, New York)
July 28, 2025 – An Order Accepting
Offer of Settlement was issued in which Webber was barred from association with
any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the allegations,
Webber consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that she failed
to provide documents and information or appear for on-the-record testimony
requested by FINRA as part of its investigation into whether she
misappropriated funds from two elderly customers. The findings stated that the
information and documents and on-the-record testimony requested by FINRA were
material to its investigation because they directly related to whether Webber
misappropriated funds and were necessary for FINRA to complete its
investigation. Webber’s failure to provide the requested documents and
information or provide testimony impeded FINRA’s investigation into her
potential misconduct. (FINRA Case #2024082788802)
Devin
Lamarr Wicker (CRD #4228250, New York, New York)
July 28, 2025 – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissal of Wicker’s appeal of an SEC decision became final. Wicker was barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities and ordered to pay $50,000, plus interest, in restitution to a customer. The SEC had sustained the findings and sanctions imposed by the National Adjudicatory Counsel (NAC). The sanctions were based on the findings that Wicker converted a customer’s funds. The findings stated that the customer hired Wicker’s member firm to serve as the underwriter for its anticipated public offering and transferred $50,000 to the firm for the sole purpose of paying a retainer to a law firm, but Wicker used the funds for other purposes. Wicker never used these or any other funds to pay the law firm, and he never returned the funds to the customer, even though he received at least seven written requests from the customer and the law firm to do so. Instead, after the customer wired the $50,000 to the firm’s bank account, essentially all of that account’s funds were used to pay the firm’s other expenses, as well as to transfer approximately $440,500 into Wicker’s personal bank account. Wicker controlled the firm’s bank account into which the retainer was wired, and he authorized withdrawals and payments from the account for other purposes, including substantial payments to himself. To date, Wicker has not repaid the customer or sent the money to the law firm. (FINRA Case #2016052104101)
Brian
Richard Baine (CRD #1355980, Rye, New York)
July 1, 2025 – An AWC was issued in
which Baine was assessed a deferred fine of $5,000 and suspended from
association with any FINRA member in all capacities for three months. Without
admitting or denying the findings, Baine consented to the sanctions and to the
entry of findings that he signed or caused a third party to sign non-securities
customers’ signatures, including senior customers, on insurance-related
documents without the customers’ permission. The findings stated that Baine did
so to expedite the insurance application process and not in furtherance of
other misconduct. The underlying transactions were authorized and none of the
customers complained. The suspension is in effect from July 7, 2025, through
October 6, 2025. (FINRA CASE #2023080198401)
Michael
Ciro Colletti (CRD #4577898)
July 10, 2025 – Colletti appealed a
NAC decision to the SEC. The NAC affirmed the findings and sanctions imposed by
the OHO. Colletti was fined $10, 000, suspended from association with any FINRA
member in all capacities for eight months, ordered to pay $5,417, plus
interest, in restitution to a customer, and required to requalify by
examination as a General Securities Representative before again serving in that
capacity. The sanctions were based on the findings that Colletti executed
unauthorized trades in the customer’s account and engaged in quantitatively
unsuitable trading. The findings stated that Colletti selected the security
that was traded and determined the volume and frequency of the trading in the
customer’s account. As a result, Colletti exercised de facto control over the
account. In addition, Colletti’s trading was inconsistent with the customer’s
investment objectives and investment profile. The customer was in his 60s at
the time he opened his account with Colletti, nearing retirement, his account
was an individual retirement account (IRA), and he listed his risk tolerance as
“moderate” and his objectives as income and growth. Colletti engaged in a
pattern in the account of buying a stock, holding it a short time, and selling
it to buy another stock, which was also sold after a short time, until the
customer closed his account. Colletti’s trading resulted in losses of $5,417.
For these traders, Colletti charged $5,081 in commissions. The sanctions are
not in effect pending review. (FINRA Case #2019061942901)
Daniel
Michael Roper (CRD #6188279, Omaha, Nebraska)
July 17, 2025 – An AWC was issued in
which Roper was assessed a deferred fine of $15,000, suspended from association
with any FINRA member in all capacities for two years, ordered to pay deferred
disgorgement of unlawful profits in the amount of $80,747, plus interest, and
required to requalify by examination as a General Securities Representative
prior to associating with any FINRA member. Without admitting or denying the
findings, Roper consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he
entered more than 14,000 equity trades and 6,300 options trades in his
customer’s self-directed retail account for a share of the customer’s profits.
The findings stated that Roper did not disclose to his member firm that he and
the customer had entered into an oral profit-sharing agreement related to the
trading, and the firm did not provide authorization to him to share in the
profits in the customer’s account. Rather, Roper took numerous steps to conceal
his conduct from his firm. In total, Roper received $80,747 in profit-sharing
payments from the customer. The findings also stated that Roper exercised
discretion without prior written authorization in connection with the equity
and options trades in the account of the customer with whom Roper had a profit-sharing
agreement. The customer orally authorized Roper to exercise discretion in his
account, but never provided him with prior written authorization to exercise
such authority, and his firm never accepted the customer’s account as
discretionary. In addition, Roper attested in his firm’s annual compliance
questionnaires that his disclosures were complete and account maintained with
the firm over which he exercised discretion. The findings also included that
Roper exchanged thousands of text message and emails with the customer with
whom he had a profit-sharing agreement using his personal mobile device. These
messages and emails included, among other things, communications about account
performance information, the trades that Roper entered in the customer’s account,
and profit-sharing payments that the customer made to Roper. Roper did not
provide his firm copies of the text messages or personal emails, which caused
the firm to maintain incomplete records of business communications. The
suspension is in effect from July 21, 2025, through July 20, 2027. (FINRA Case
#2023079598001)
Chad
Michael Rogers (CRD #4029698, Tuttle, Oklahoma)
July 22, 2025 – An AWC was issued in
which Rogers was assessed a deferred fine of $5,000 and suspended from
association with any FINRA member in all capacities for 45 days. Without
admitting or denying the findings, Rogers consented to the sanctions and to the
entry of findings that he impersonated customers during phone calls to his
prior member firm. The findings stated that Rogers impersonated the customers
to facilitate the transfer of their accounts to his employing member firm, or,
in some instances, to transfer funds to the customers’ bank accounts. Although
the customers consented to transferring their accounts or funds, none of them
gave Rogers permission to impersonate them during these calls. The suspension
is in effect from August 4, 2025, through September 17, 2025. (FINRA Case
#2023079833901)
Andrew
Steven Mack (CRD #5932062, New York, New York)
July 23, 2025 – An AWC was issued in
which Mack was assessed a deferred fine of $10,000 and suspended from
association with any FINRA member in all capacities for three months. Without
admitting or denying the findings, Mack consented to the sanctions and to the
entry of findings that he exercised discretion without written authorization in
connection with trades in customer accounts. The findings stated that although
the customers understood that Mack was conducting trading in their accounts,
none had given him prior written authorization and his member firm had not
accepted the accounts as discretionary. For six months during the relevant
period, Mack was on a heightened supervision plan that prohibited his exercise
of discretion, yet he placed discretionary trades without written authorization
in customer accounts during that time. Furthermore, Mack inaccurately stated
that he did not exercise discretion in customer accounts on three of the firm’s
annual compliance questionnaires. The suspension is in effect from August 4,
2025, through November 3, 2025. (FINRA Case #2023077059101)
Charles
Scott Burford Sr. (CRD #1658201, Dallas, Texas)
July 28, 2025 – Burford appealed an
SEC decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The SEC
sustained the findings and sanctions imposed by the NAC. Burford was fined
$10,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in all capacities
for six months. The sanctions were based on the findings that Burford executed
unauthorized trades in, and facilitated unauthorized withdrawals from, his
deceased customer’s account. The findings stated that Burford did not submit
the customer’s death certificate to his member firm until over 14 months after
his death. Further, Burford executed the trades and facilitated the withdrawals
in the account on instructions from the customer’s widow. Burford did not
submit the death certificate to the firm until it was necessary to permit the
customer’s widow, who was named beneficiary, to take the required minimum
distribution from the customer’s beneficiary IRA by year’s end. When Burford
submitted the death certificate for this purpose, he failed to inform the firm
that the customer’s account remained open and active. Burford executed
additional trades and withdrawals in the account. In all, at the widow’s
request, Burford executed nine sales transactions totaling nearly $130,000 and
facilitated eight withdrawals totaling nearly $85,000. After learning that the
customer’s daughter planned to contest the customer’s will, Buford asked the
firm to freeze the customer’s account. Even then, Burford failed to inform the
firm that he had improperly effected any transactions in the customer’s account
until the daughter’s attorney informed Burford that she had challenged the will
and warned him that the firm might be liable for the distributions from the
customer’s account. The sanctions are not in effect pending review (FINRA Case
#2019064656601)
Venugopal
Ramakrishnappa Reddy (CRD #5125813)
July 29, 2025 – An AWC was issued in
which Reddy was assessed a deferred fine or $5,000 and suspended from
association with any FINRA member in all capacities for six months. Without
admitting or denying the findings, Reddy consented to the sanctions and to the
entry of findings that he participated in private securities transactions
without providing prior notice to his member firm. The findings stated that
Reddy and a partner formed an investment fund and several affiliated entities
for the purpose of raising capital to invest in early-stage technology
companies. Reddy timely disclosed his role as co-owner and co-manager of these
entities to his firm. Among other things, Reddy disclosed that the entities
would engage in “investment related” activities, including offering interests
in the fund to investors, and that he would be entitled to receive a share of
carried interest under certain circumstances. Reddy also provided draft
offering materials to the firm. Ultimately, the firm approved Reddy’s involvement
in these entities as outside business activities (OBAs). 36 accredited
investors committed a total of $9.2 million in capital to the fund and
affiliated entities. Reddy participated in transactions involving nine of these
customers and approximately $5 million in capital by helping to solicit
investments and by executing subscription agreements on behalf of the fund and
affiliated entities. To date, Reddy has not received any carried interest. Once
the firm became aware of the transactions, its chief executive officer signed
forms documenting the firm’s approval of them. The suspension is in effect from
August 4, 2025, through February 3, 2026. (FINRA Case #2022076766202)
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