NOTE: Stipulations of Fact and Consent to Penalty (SFC); 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 & to the entry of findings. Additionally, for AWCs, if FINRA has reason to believe a violation has occurred and the member or associated person does not dispute the violation, FINRA may prepare and request that the member or associated person execute a letter accepting a finding of violation, consenting to the imposition of sanctions, and agreeing to waive such member's or associated person's right to a hearing before a hearing panel, and any right of appeal to the National Adjudicatory Council, the SEC, and the courts, or to otherwise challenge the validity of the letter, if the letter is accepted. The letter shall describe the act or practice engaged in or omitted, the rule, regulation, or statutory provision violated, and the sanction or sanctions to be imposed.

Farmers Financial Solutions, LLC
AWC/2008015341602

Farmers failed to have an adequate system or procedure in place that was reasonably designed to achieve compliance for the preservation and maintenance of emails or for the supervisory review of registered representatives’ emails with the public. The firm allowed its registered representatives to use email to conduct business and it did not have an automated system for email surveillance or archiving, but instead, relied upon its registered representatives to electronically forward their emails to a dedicated internal email address for purposes of supervisory review by a principal and archiving, while having no effective system or procedure in place to monitor compliance of its registered representatives with the email-forwarding requirement. The Firm to preserve and maintain business-related emails.

Farmers Financial Solutions, LLC : Censured; Fined $75,000

Tags: Email