FINRA fines Maxwell Simon Over Micro-Cap Sales

Maxwell SImon fined by FINRA.

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In December, 2015, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) announced that Maxwell Simon of Minneapolis, MN submitted an acceptance, waiver and consent letter regarding its failure to supervise its registered representatives in their sales of unregistered microcap securities. In agreeing to the AWC, the firm was fined $20,000.

FINRA’s allegations against Maxwell Simon concerned micro-cap securities sales.  FINRA found that the firm failed to properly investigate the sales, failed to respond to red flags concerning the transactions and failed to establish, maintain and enforce an effective system of reviewing the transactions to ensure that the transactions were in compliance with the securities laws, in particular Rule 144.

Registration and disciplinary history

In order to lawfully sell investments to the public, a firm must either be registered or exempt from registration.  Maxwell Simon is an Minnesota corporation formed in 1978 and registered with FINRA.

According to FINRA’s CRD disclosure report, Maxwell Simon has been the subject of three regulatory investigations.

The Law Office of David Liebrader practices exclusively in the field of investment loss recovery.  For the past 23 years, we have dedicated our law practice to assisting investors who have been victims of investment fraud via fraudulent and unsuitable investment transactions.  During that time we have recovered money for over one thousand individuals, pension plans, trusts and companies.  The recoveries we have obtained via judgments, awards and settlements on behalf of our clients exceed $40,000,000.

When investors contact our firm they can expect prompt attention, and a detailed analysis of their issues.  Typical claims that we are asked to review  involve “unsuitability (where a financial advisor makes investment recommendations that are inconsistent with a customer’s investment objectives), claims for “churning” (where a broker enters into an excessive number of trades for the purpose of generating commissions), claims involving illiquid investments such as private placements (I.e., real estate investment trusts, limited partnerships, equipment leasing and oil and gas drilling programs) as well as claims for violations of state securities laws, which often provide investors remedies like attorney’s fees and interest, if they are successful on the claim.

If you suspect that you have been the victim of investment fraud, or had a financial advisor recommend unsuitable investments to you, call us today for a free, confidential consultation at (702) 380-3131.

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