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Financial Enforcement Actions | Week of May 05 to May 10
May 13, 2019
Penalties: N/A
Respondent: iBackPack Of Texas and Douglas Monahan
Violation: Defendants have run four crowdfunding campaigns that have raised over $800,000 from consumers, representing to consumers that they would use the funds primarily to develop, produce, complete, and deliver certain products, such as a backpack that incorporated various technology features… Read More
Penalties: N/A
Respondent: Waldron HVAC, LLC, d/b/a Waldron Electric Heating and Cooling, LLC, and Thomas J. Waldron
Violation: Respondents have offered, in the course of selling their goods and services, form contracts, as that term is defined in 15 U.S.C. § 45b(a)(3), that contained a provision made void by 15 U.S.C. § 45b(b)(1). violated Section 2(c) of the CRFA, 15 U.S.C. § 45b(c)… Read More
Penalties: N/A
Respondent: Tomi A. Truax
Violation: Respondents have offered, in the course of selling their goods and services, form contracts, as that term is defined in 15 U.S.C. § 45b(a)(3), that contained a provision made void by 15 U.S.C. § 45b(b)(1). violated Section 2(c) of the CRFA, 15 U.S.C. § 45b(c)… Read More
Penalties: N/A
Respondent: James Brearley & Sons Limited
Violation: “FCA had concerns that the term had the potential to be considered unfair under the CRA and the UTCCRs, as it provided the firm with discretion to terminate the contract without necessarily providing consumers with written notice in advance.”… Read More
Penalties: N/A
Respondent: DMC Health Wize Limited
Violation: DMC has failed to comply with the regulatory requirement to submit the Returns. DMC has not been open and co-operative in all its dealings with the Authority, in that it has failed to respond adequately to the Authority’s repeated requests for it to submit the Returns, and has thereby failed to comply with Principle 11 of the Authority’s Principles for Businesses and to satisfy the Authority that it is ready, willing and organised to comply with the requirements and standards of the regulatory system… Read More
FINRA
Penalties: $25,000.00
Respondent: FIS Brokerage & Securities Services LLC
Violation: During the period between December 2015 and July 2017, the firm submitted to OATS approximately 431,000 Reportable Order Events (“ROEs”) that contained inaccurate, incomplete, or improperly formatted data which violated FINRA Rule 7450… Read More
Penalties: $10,000.00
Respondent: Ronald R. Blasczyk
Violation: Respondent Ronald R. Blasczyk made an unsuitable recommendation to his customer, EF, that she liquidate a variable annuity she had owned for 10 Years (the Voya VA). Blasczyk did not have a reasonable basis to believe that his recommendation was suitable for EF, and thereby violated FINRA Rules 2111 and 2010… Read More
Penalties: $15,000.00
Respondent: Michael Milad Tanha
Violation: Tanha engaged in five outside business activities without providing prior written notice to the Firm, in violation of FINRA Rules 3270 and 2010… Read More
Penalties: $5,000.00
Respondent: Steven Paul Cooper
Violation: From April to May 2017, Cooper recommended and then made a series of unsuitable mutual fund trades in seven customers’ accounts, in violation of FINRA Rules 2111 and 2010… Read More
Penalties: $10,000.00
Respondent: Stephen Patrick Tosha
Violation: Tosha violated FINRA Rule 2010, and FENRA Rules 4511 and 2010 by causing MS to create and maintain inaccurate books and records in violation of Section 17(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) and Rule 17a-3 thereunder… Read More
Penalties: $621,737.89
Respondent: Michael Joseph Clarke
Violation: Clarke converted $612,400 from three colleagues through misrepresentations, in violation of FINRA Rule 2010. We bar Clarke from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for these violations. Clarke authored 60 bad checks and failed electronic transfers over a three year period, also in violation of FINRA Rule 2010… Read More
Penalties: N/A
Respondent: Dominic Tropiano
Violation: Between May 2015 and April 2016, Tropiano recommended over 800 transactions involving non-traditional exchange-traded funds (“ETFs) to at least 47 customers, without having a reasonable basis to believe those transactions were suitable for anyone, due to his lack of understanding of the unique risks, terms, and features of the products Tropiano’s recommendations involving nontraditional ETFs were also unsuitable for those 47 customers in light of their investment profiles. As a result of his unsuitable recommendations, Tropiano violated FINRA Rules 2111 and 2010… Read More
SEC
Penalties: N/A
Respondent: Rocco Roveccio
Violation: From July 2012 to October 2014, Roveccio recommended to seven customers – Customers 5 through 11 – a pattern of high cost, in-and-out trading without any reasonable basis to believe that his recommendations were suitable for anyone… Read More
Penalties: $100,000.00
Respondent: Corinthian Capital Group, LLC, Peter B. Van Raalte, and David G. Tahan
Violation: Corinthian misused the assets in a private equity fund, Corinthian Equity Fund II, LP (“CEF 2”) that it advised to the advantage of Corinthian and three of its principals. Corinthian failed to apply a $1.2 million fee offset due to CEF 2… Read More
Penalties: $324,614.00
Respondent: Rocco Roveccio
Violation: From July 2012 to October 2014, Rocco Roveccio, recommended to seven customers a pattern of high-cost, in-and-out trading without any reasonable basis to believe that his customers could make a profit. Roveccio engaged in unauthorized trading and churning. Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5… Read More
Penalties: N/A
Respondent: Next Galaxy Corp. and Novamex Energy Inc.
Violation: The time for filing a petition for review of the initial decision in this proceeding has expired. No such petition has been filed by Next Galaxy Corp. or Novamex Energy, Inc… Read More
Penalties: N/A
Respondent: Ibex Advanced Mortgage Technology Inc.
Violation: The time for filing a petition for review of the initial decision in this proceeding has expired. No such petition has been filed by Ibex Advanced Mortgage Technology, Inc… Read More
Penalties: $4,125,000.00
Respondent: Telefônica Brasil S.A
Violation: Telefônica Brasil violated Sections 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act. Telefônica Brasil violated Section 13(b)(2)(A) of the Exchange Act by improperly recording the purchase of tickets and hospitality that were given to government officials. Telefônica Brasil also violated Section 13(b)(2)(B) by failing to devise and maintain sufficient internal accounting controls to detect and prevent the making of improper payments to foreign officials… Read More
Penalties: $7,000,000.00
Respondent: Danny R. William
Violation: Danny R. Williams, then Quality Companies president, engaged in a scheme to sell used trucks at inflated prices to third parties, in return for buying trucks at comparably inflated prices. This scheme allegedly enabled Celadon to avoid recording losses on the truck sales. The complaint further alleges that, as a result of the scheme, Celadon overstated its pre-tax and net income and earnings per share in its annual report for the period ending June 30, 2016, and in its subsequent public filings for the first two fiscal quarters of 2017… Read More
Penalties: $284,199.00
Respondent: Lloyd Schuman and Dane Janes
Violation: chuman purchased Verso shares before Verso publicly announced the acquisition. Schuman also allegedly tipped a relative, who also purchased Verso shares before the public announcement. Immediately after the announcement, Schuman sold all of his Verso shares realizing more than $107,000 in profits. Schuman’s relative also sold his Verso shares, realizing more than $2,500 in profits… Read More
Penalties: N/A
Respondent: Jeffrey Francis Thompson
Violation: Thompson, among other things, charged his clients unauthorized, unearned, and excessive fees, forged client signatures on advisory contracts, provided clients with inaccurate fee invoices, and filed a misleading Form ADV that failed to disclose certain fee arrangements and his recent personal bankruptcy… Read More
Penalties: N/A
Respondent: “Avant Diagnostics, Inc., ChitrChatr Communications, Inc., ROI Land Investments, Ltd., and WORDLOGIC Corp”
Violation: AVDX has failed to comply with Exchange Act Section 13(a) and Rules 13a-1 and 13a-13 thereunder because, at the time this proceeding was instituted, it had not filed any periodic reports with the Commission since the period ended September 30, 2016… Read More
Asif Alam
CEO & Board Member
Asif Alam is the Chief Executive Officer at Compliance.ai. A leader in shaping disruptive technology, his experience includes building products using AI and natural language processing for GRC, payments, lending, risk, trading, and new solutions, from Fortune 500 companies to startups.
In his most recent role, he served as the Chief Strategy Officer of ThoughtTrace, unlocking new revenue streams and markets, and reignite portfolio growth. ThoughTrace was then acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2021.
He brings more than 20 years of management and business experience; increasing profitability, unlocking new revenue streams and markets, and reignite portfolio growth for companies like Thomson Reuters, Crux Informatics, and Finastra. Asif is a forward-thinking expert driving engagement via client forums, public presentations, and white papers.
You can find more about Asif Alam at http://www.linkedin.com/in/asifalam