Securities Arbitration Lawyers BlogFINRA Bars Wesley C. Smith
Earlier this year, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) barred Wesley Smith from working for any FINRA member. The broker had been previously registered with Edward Jones from January of 2008 to September of 2014. According to the CRD, Mr. Smith had not passed any principal/supervisory exams, but had passed one general industry/product exam and one state securities law exam. Mr. Smith has five customer disputes that have been resolved, and one pending.
Following FINRA Notice of Suspension and Suspension from Association letters dated November 4, 2014 and December 1, 2014, FINRA, pursuant to Rule 9552(H), barred Mr. Smith from any association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Specifically, the bar resulted due to Mr. Smith’s failure to request termination of his suspension within three months of the date of the Notice of Suspension. While notice of it occurred on November 4th, Mr. Smith’s actual suspension began on November 28, 2014. A failure to make a request to end a suspension results in an automatic expulsion or bar from association with FINRA. The sanction was officially ordered on February 9, 2015.
Operated by FINRA, the CRD is the central licensing and registration system for the U.S. securities industry and its regulators. It contains the registration records of over 6,500 registered broker-dealers. Additionally, the CRD contains the qualification, employment and disclosure histories of more than 650,000 active registered individuals. Access to the Web CRD is for entitled members only. In order to gain access, firms must go through the entitlement process administered by FINRA.
Disputes under FINRA
FINRA provides protection for investors harmed by broker misconduct by developing and enforcing rules applicable to firms and brokers. In addition, FINRA reviews those firms and brokers for compliance with those rules.
If you believe that you have suffered harm as a result of broker misconduct or would like more information about the protections under FINRA, speak with one of the experienced securities law attorneys at the Silver Law Group today. We have developed expertise in representing investors in disputes heard by FINRA and look forward to helping you.