Enforcement Actions
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
U4, U5, RE-3, RULE 3070
2011
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.
Joseph Jeffrey Mattia (Supervisor)
OS/2008016120501

Mattia authorized an email to be sent from him to his member firm’s Office of General Counsel that contained statements concerning the resolution of a customer complaint against a firm registered representative that he knew, or should have known, were false and caused the firm to improperly report the resolution on the representative’s Form U4.

The client settlement had been improperly reported as withdrawn even though the client’s accounts had been credited with $9,198 and Mattia had personally agreed to settle the complaint. Even if Mattia believed the email might be accurate, he should have made a reasonable inquiry into the status of the complaint prior to authorizing the email to be sent, and he would have discovered that the complaint had not been withdrawn.

Joseph Jeffrey Mattia (Supervisor): Fined $5,000; Suspended 3 months
Bill Singer's Comment

It takes a bit to figure this one out. As best I can tell, a client complained. The client settled the matter upon being issued a $9,198 credit which Mattia "personally agreed to." It appears that Mattia was not the registered person servicing the account but that he was consenting to the settlement as that RR's registered supervisor.

You got me so far?

Okay, after all this settlement stuff is finished, Mattia then does something like email his firm's General Counsel's office with the advisory that the customer had withdrawn the complaint. FINRA seems to believe that either the complaint was not withdrawn but "settled," and should have been reported as such.

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