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.

Bradley John Delp
AWC/2007008935005/February 2011

Delp recommended that customers participate in a Stock to Cash program under which customers pledged stock to obtain loans to purchase other products; Delp’s customers obtained loans totaling approximately $3.5 million. The customers borrowed up to 90 percent of the value of the pledged stock for a short period of time. The pledged stock would be transferred to the loaning entity’s securities account maintained at a clearing firm; and no payments were required during the term of the loan, but customers were required to pay the full principal and interest due at the end of the loan term. The documentation the loaning entity used made it appear it was retaining the securities pledged and might use them to enter into hedging transactions, but in reality, the customers conveyed full ownership to the entity, which routinely sold the securities upon receipt and often moved the money into its own bank account.

The entity became unable to make complete payments to customers with profitable portfolios and used the proceeds from the sale of securities new customers pledged to pay off its obligations to existing customers, and money was also diverted to pay for expenses not related to its operation. Delp did not take adequate efforts to find out what happened to the stock conveyed to the lender and did not inquire into what would be done with the stock; failed to conduct due diligence into the lender’s financial condition but relied on unverified statements the promoter made, and told his clients they could receive their stock back at the end of the loan period. By failing to verify information about how the stock was held or secured and whether the lender had the ability to fulfill its obligations, Delp did not have a reasonable basis for recommending the Stock to Cash program to his customers and potential customers. Some of the customers, at Delp’s recommendation and with his participation, initially used some or most of the proceeds to buy equity-based mutual funds along with other products in violation of Regulation U restrictions.

Bradley John Delp : Fined $25,000; Suspended 75 days

Tags:  Reg U         |    In: Cases of Note : FINRA

Paul Michael Rodak (Principal)
AWC/2007008935003/February 2011

Rodak assisted customers in participating in a Stock to Cash program, under which customers would pledge stock to obtain loans, the proceeds of which were, in many cases, used to purchase non-securities insurance products. Customers that Rodak assisted took out stocks to cash loans totaling more than $7.8 million.

As part of the process of obtaining a loan through the Stock to Cash loan program, customers were required to provide documentation setting forth the intended use of proceeds in order to ensure compliance with Federal Reserve Board regulations restricting the extension of margin credit. In order to avoid violation of Regulation U, borrowers who pledge marginable securities must complete a Federal Reserve Form G-3, also referred to as a Purpose Statement, which requires them to certify whether they will be using the loan proceeds to buy margin securities and, if not, to describe the specific purpose of the credit; the Form G-3 includes a warning that the falsification of the purpose of the credit by a borrower on the form violates the margin rules.

Rodak completed the Purpose Statement for the customers, indicating that they would be using the proceeds for real estate, but at the time Rodak completed these forms, he did not know how the customers would be using the proceeds, or whether the customers had already decided to use the proceeds to buy insurance products; as a result, Rodak caused numerous Purpose Statements to be inaccurate, and a copy of the completed statement for each customer was subsequently provided to the promoter of the program.

Paul Michael Rodak (Principal): Fined $15,000; Suspended 60 days

Tags:  Reg U    Stock To Cash     |    In: Cases of Note : FINRA