Ex-Broker Barred After Refusing to Respond to FINRA Probe

News August 21, 2024 at 03:22 PM
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Former broker Gregory Alan Corrie, fired from Cambridge Investment Research last year, has agreed to be barred from the industry after refusing to cooperate with an investigation into allegations that he excessively used unit investment trusts.

The 30-year industry veteran, as part of a settlement, consented to be barred from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority member in any capacity, FINRA said Tuesday.

Corrie accepted FINRA's findings that he declined to produce the requested information and documents but did not admit or deny them, according to an authority letter of acceptance, waiver and consent. This development was first reported by AdvisorHub.

From  January 2020 to March 17, 2023, Corrie, based in Boise, Idaho, was registered as an investment company and variable contracts products representative through an association with Cambridge Investment Research, according to his FINRA Brokercheck record.

On March 17, 2023, Cambridge filed a Form U5 notice disclosing that the firm had terminated Corrie for excessive use of UIT products. On May 1, 2023, Cambridge filed an amended Form U5 disclosing that its internal review had concluded and that the firm had made "remediation payments related to the trading activity," FINRA reported.

Three months ago, FINRA asked Corrie for information related to the inquiry into his dismissal from Cambridge.

"As stated in his counsel's email to FINRA on July 9, 2024, and by this agreement, Corrie acknowledges that he received FINRA's request and will not produce the information and documents requested at any time," FINRA reported.

This refusal violates agency rules.

UITs invest money raised from many investors in a one-time public offering in a generally fixed portfolio of stocks, bonds or other securities, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. They are subject to "different risks and fees and expenses," the SEC notes.

Corrie's lawyer didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment Wednesday. For its part, Cambridge said via e-mail: "As a matter of policy, we do not comment on pending litigation."

In 2015, Cambridge entered into a settlement with FINRA in which it agreed to a censure and a $250,000 fine after FINRA said that the firm had failed to apply "rollover" and exchange discounts to customers with eligible UIT purchases for nearly six years.

In December 2019, in another settlement, FINRA found that Cambridge failed to reasonably supervise short-term trading of UITs and mutual fund class A shares and to ensure that clients received available mutual fund breakpoint discounts, among other violations.

The firm, which now has roughly 3,800 financial professionals and roughly $174 billion in assets under advisement, agreed to a censure and a $150,000 fine.

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