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.
Brett Michael Plew
AWC/2009018269501/December 2011
By the time Plew discovered a trading
error in a public customer’s
account, the mutual fund shares had declined in value by
approximately $50,000. Plew
and the customer agreed to reallocate the securities holdings in
the account and hope that
the market would rebound to make up the loss.
Plew sent the
customer letters on his member firm’s letterhead promising to
recoup her loss and later
guaranteeing that the money would be replaced if his efforts to
restore the value of the
account were unsuccessful within a year. Plew did not consult with
his supervisor or the
firm’s compliance department prior to sending the letter with the
guarantee. The customer decided she wanted a trade
correction and faxed Plew’s letter
to the firm’s compliance department, asking that the guarantee be honored. Plew’s firm
reimbursed the customer for the error.
Brett Michael Plew: Fined $5,000; Suspended 20 business days
James Spottswood Gibson
AWC/2009019827801/August 2011
Gibson met with customers of his member firm to discuss their joint securities account, which had sustained losses. At the meeting, Gibson gave them a check for $10,000 drawn against a personal bank account Gibson owned. In issuing the check, which the customers negotiated, Gibson shared in losses the customers had sustained in their joint account at Gibson’s firm.
James Spottswood Gibson: Fined $5,000; Suspended 10 business days
Michael Douglas Hanke
AWC/2009016739701/February 2011
Hanke sent unapproved personal emails to customers guaranteeing them against future loss in their securities portfolio, although he later sent the customers an email withdrawing the guarantee.
Michael Douglas Hanke : Fined $2,500; Suspended 10 business days