NOTE: Offers of Settlement (OS) and Letters of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) are entered into by Respondents without admitting or denying the allegations, but consent is given to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings.

2007
Continuing Education
see the NASD Continuing Education Rule

While taking the Regulation Element of NASD's Continuing Education Requirement exam at a testing center, he reviewed email messages and made telephone calls on his wireless hand-held device contrary to the exam instruction's Rules of Conduct. Nguyen failed to respond to an NASD request for information. 

Long Hoang Nguyen: Barred

Acting through Philipps, the Firm 

• permitted a registered person to continue to perform duties that require registration while his NASD registration was inactive due to his failure to satisfy the regulatory element of his continuing education requirements;
• failed to develop an anti-money laundering (AML) program reasonably designed to achieve and monitor compliance with the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act and the implementing regulations promulgated thereunder;
• permitted an individual to park his registration with the firm;
• failed to establish, maintain and enforce an adequate supervisory system and written supervisory procedures reasonably designed to achieve compliance with applicable securities laws, regulations and NASD rules concerning annual compliance meetings, customer complaint reporting, designation of titles, registration status and location of supervisory personnel, private securities transactions, outside business activities and review of correspondence;
• did not have a system to retain email communications relating to its business that Philipps sent or received using his personal email account, and failed to preserve copies of such electronic communications; and
• failed to maintain net capital, in the amount of $5,000, and actually had negative net capital. (NASD Case )

Pension Fund Evaluations, Inc.: Censured; Fined $7,500 jt/sev with Philipps; Fined $18,500 

and Gregory George Philipps (Principal): Censured; Fined $7,500 jt/sev with the Firm; Fined $2,500

Taylor submitted falsified documents to the insurance division of a state regulator that represented that her insurance licenses were in good standing when in fact they were inactive due to her failure to complete continuing education. Taylor failed to timely amend her Form U4 to disclose material information and that she failed to respond truthfully during an NASD on-the-record interview. 

Marylan Katherine Taylor: Barred

Acting through Huberman, his firm failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system, including but not limited to, the establishment and maintenance of written procedures reasonably designed to ensure that the firm and its associated persons complied with NASD’s Research Analyst and Research Report Rule. Huberman failed to ensure the timely filing of Forms U5. Huberman continued to act in a registered capacity even though he became inactive for failing to complete the Regulatory Element of Continuing Education. 

Isac Huberman: Fined $15,000; Suspended 6 months in Principal capacity.

While associated with his member firm, Martins engaged in activities requiring registration while his registration status with NASD was inactive due to his failure to complete the Continuing Education Regulatory Element requirement.

Guillherme Loos Martins: Censured; Fined $10,000

The Firm failed to 

• fully comply with the Firm Element of NASD’s Continuing Education requirements for the years 2001 and 2002 by failing to maintain records documenting the content of its continuing education programs and completion of the programs by covered registered persons;
• develop an anti-money laundering (AML) program reasonably designed to achieve and monitor its compliance with the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act and the implementing regulations promulgated thereunder; 
• create or maintain a Business Continuity Plan; and
• maintain the minimum required net capital. 

Vision Securities, Inc. : Censured; Fined $27,500

The Firm permitted a representative to function in a registered capacity while his registration status was inactive due to his failure to complete the Regulatory Element of the NASD Continuing Education requirement. The Firm failed to enforce its written supervisory procedures pertaining to the Regulatory Element of Continuing Education. 

Headwaters MB, LLC: Censured: Fined $12,000

The Firm permitted individuals to act in a capacity that required registration while their registration status with NASD was inactive due to their failure to complete the Regulatory Element of NASD’s Continuing Education requirement. The Firm failed to report statistical and summary information regarding customer complaints as NASD Rule 3070(c) requires. The Firm prepared an inaccurate month-end net capital computation and filed an inaccurate Financial and Operational Combined Uniform Single (FOCUS) report. 

Advanced Planning Securities, Inc.: Censured; Fined $10,000

Acting through DeCastro, the Firm permitted 

• an employee to engage in activities that required registration while his general securities representative registration status with NASD was inactive due to his failure to complete the Regulatory Element of NASD’s Continuing Education Requirement, and
• its associated persons to engage in activities that require registration with NASD as Limited Representatives - Equity Traders (ET) when they were not so registered. 

Also, the Firm failed to ensure that the individual who supervises the individuals’ ET-related activities was registered as an ET, as required. 

Pactual Capital Corporation: Censured; Fined $20,000 ($10,000 joint/several with DeCastro)

Christina S.A. DeCastro: Censured; Fined $10,000 joint/several with Firm

Acting through Gandhi, the Firm 

• did not have a written training plan to provide for a continuing and current education program for the firm’s registered persons;
• failed to hold annual compliance meetings; and
• failed to maintain records and documents relating to the NASD Breakpoint Assessment, the Mutual Fund Self-Assessment and the NASD Breakpoint Online Survey. 

Niphix Investments, Inc. and Nimish Gandhi: Censured; Fined $15,000 jt/several

The Firm permitted Kailer to actively engage in the management of its investment banking or securities business without being registered as a general securities principal. Acting through Kailer, the firm

1. permitted a representative to conduct a securities business while his registration was inactive due to his failure to timely satisfy the Regulatory Element of the Continuing Education requirement; 
2. failed to maintain all required information for new accounts; and
3. failed to maintain email correspondence sent or received by Kailer relating to the firm’s business. 

The Firm was unable to produce any written procedures relating to email or instant messaging prior to contracting for electronic storage. 

Banif Securities, Inc. : Censured; Fined $45,000 ($20,000 joint/several with Kailer)

Richard John Kailer: Censured; Fined $20,000 joint/several with Firm