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.
Abbott presented seminars to promote the sale of reverse mortgages and solicit various types of investments from senior citizens contrary to his member firm’s prohibition of engaging in any reverse mortgage business, including the promotion and sale of reverse mortgages.
In connection with the seminars, Abbott
sent invitations that used exaggerated and unwarranted claims, and used a slide and handouts that projected unfounded claims of future performance;
issued public communications containing unbalanced discussions of reverse mortgages and making claims regarding his expertise and status in the financial industry that were misleading, false, unwarranted or lacked a sound basis;
distributed communications that provided incomplete and unbalanced discussions of investment products and omitted material information;
used communications in the seminars without a registered firm principal’s prior written and dated approval and failed to file slides used in his presentation with FINRA’s Advertising Regulation Department;
failed to disclose the broker-dealer’s name in the seminar invitations .
Daniel Allen Abbott: Fined $20,000; Suspended 60 days in all capacities