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.

Dane Carl Sternecker
AWC/2009016781201

Sternecker attempted to determine a customer’s total amount of investments without the customer’s knowledge or consent. Sternecker called a representative at another investment firm and inquired about the customer’s investments at that firm. Sternecker requested a firm office assistant to impersonate the customer and authorize the representative at the other firm to provide Sternecker with information about the customer over the phone. As part of the impersonation, the office assistant answered security questions about the customer from information the customer provided to Sternecker earlier; the security answers provided by the office assistant induced the other firm’s representative to provide Sternecker with the customer’s investment information.

The office assistant reported the impersonation to her manager, which led to an internal investigation and after Sternecker admitted to his misconduct, the firm terminated him.

Dane Carl Sternecker : Fined $5,000; Suspended 30 business days

Tags: Impersonation