1st Discount Brokerage, Inc.
1st Discount Brokerage (1DB) is an independent broker/dealer headquartered in Lake Worth, Florida. 1DB began operations in 1995 and has 26 offices. 1DB clears through Apex Clearing Corporation.
1st Discount Fined for Penny Stock Sales1DB submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent to FINRA in which the firm was censured and fined $60,000 for findings that the firm executed sales of large blocks of low-priced securities without conducting reasonable inquiry to determine whether the securities were registered or transactions subject to an exemption from registration. The findings stated the firm’s supervisory system was deficient in identifying red flags including firm customers who engaged in a pattern of depositing large blocks of low-priced securities in their accounts, liquidating those securities and then wiring sale proceeds to an account outside the firm without re-investment. FINRA also found that the firm’s supervisory procedures and anti-money laundering compliance programs were deficient.
1st Discount Settles With SEC for Violations Related to Ponzi SchemeIn 2012, the SEC accepted 1DB’s Offer of Settlement which imposed a censure and fine of $40,000 for violating securities acts in failing to supervise a registered representative who operated a Ponzi scheme in which over 50 investors were defrauded out of almost $9 million. It was found that 1DB did not have adequate supervisory policies and procedures in place to detect the fraud.
Silver Law GroupSilver Law Group is a nationally recognized securities and investment fraud law firm with Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ “AV” rated lawyers that handle all securities arbitration matters on a contingency fee basis. The Law Firm, at no cost to investors will review account activity and account statements to determine whether there was any misconduct, whether there are damages and the legal causes of action. We investigate all sales practice violations, while taking into consideration the investor’s age, investment background, and the relationship between the investor and the brokerage firm and its financial advisor. According to securities industry rules and regulations, unsuitable investment advice, securities concentration, fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions of material facts, breach of fiduciary duty, conflicts of interest, variable annuity switching are among the causes of action that may be available to investors in claims for damages against brokerage firms and their financial advisors in a securities arbitration claim filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). We represent investors in FINRA arbitration claims on a contingency fee basis.
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