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.
December 2009
Mesirow Financial, Inc. AWC/2008012747801/December 2009
Mesirow's clearing agreement with correspondent firms impermissibly allocated the detection and reporting of suspicious activity with respect to trading activities of introduced customer securities accounts to the introducing correspondent firms. The Bank Secrecy Act imposes an independent obligation to detect and report suspicious activity on all broker-dealers. Consequently, the firm’s AML program was not reasonably designed to detect and cause the reporting of suspicious trading activity in customer accounts.