The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined a Alliance Global Partners rep $10,000 and suspended him for three months for making 2,500 trades in over 200 customer accounts without authorization and using his personal cell phone to exchange thousands of securities-business related text messages.
According to FINRA's order, from October 2018 through the present, Charles H. Garrido has been registered as a general securities sales supervisor and operations professional with A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners.
From January 2020 to December 2023, Garrido exercised discretion without written authorization in connection with approximately 2,500 trades in over 200 customer accounts in violation of FINRA Rules 3260(b) and 2010.
Also, from January 2020 to August 2024, "he used his personal cell phone to exchange thousands of securities-business related text messages," causing the firm to maintain incomplete records of business communications in violation of FINRA Rules 4511 and 2010, the order states.
"Although the customers understood Garrido was conducting trading in their accounts, none had given him prior written authorization, and A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners had not accepted the accounts as discretionary," the order states.
The A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners written supervisory procedures prohibited the use of personal devices and external systems for business purposes.
"In contravention of those procedures, Garrido used a personal mobile device to send and receive thousands of text messages with A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners customers about securities-related business from January 2020 to August 2024," the order states.
"The text messages included, among other things, investment recommendations as well as information about specific trades, brokerage account performance and balances, transfers of funds, issuers, and market events," FINRA said.
On annual compliance questionnaires each year from 2020 through 2022, "Garrido represented that he only would use approved means of communication for business communications and would not use any means of electronic communication not approved by A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners," the order said.
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