FINRA Fines Wedbush Securities $850,000 For Allegedly Falsifying Client Statements

Posted on November 21st, 2022 at 2:12 PM
FINRA Fines Wedbush Securities $850,000 For Allegedly Falsifying Client Statements

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined Wedbush Securities $850,000 to settle allegations that the firm falsified monthly client statements for five years.

Wedbush, which employs 540 registered advisors in 40 branch offices nationwide, has agreed to pay the fine without admitting or denying any of FINRA’s investigatory findings. According to FINRA, Wedbush “negligently misrepresented” monthly account statements sent to nearly 610 clients between 2013 and 2018 by indicating that 38 municipal and corporate bonds were making interest or principal payments when, in reality, the bonds were in default. While Wedbush was notified that the bonds were in default, Wedbush failed to inform the vendor it employed to maintain information about securities held by clients, according to FINRA.

FINRA additionally alleged that Wedbush failed to reasonably review the accuracy of the monthly account statements, even after a vendor notified the firm in 2016 that it was misreporting bond default information. According to the settlement, Wedbush also allegedly failed to delivery order execution and margin disclosures to nearly 14,900 clients between 2010 and 2020.

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, advisors, law, finra

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

Thank you for your professional assistance with this matter. You are very good at what you do.

John T.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

February 12, 2026
CFTC Signals New Rulemaking for Prediction Markets and Crypto Oversight

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) plans to develop new regulations governing the growing prediction markets industry, Chairman Michael Selig announced, signaling a shift in regulatory strategy.

February 11, 2026
Ameriprise Advisor Phishing Incident Potentially Exposes Client Data

A phishing incident involving an Ameriprise Financial advisor potentially exposed the personal information of hundreds of clients, according to a disclosure posted by the Maine Attorney General’s office.

February 10, 2026
Merrill Lynch Expands Client Disclosures on Crypto and AI Risks

Merrill Lynch updated its required client disclosure brochure to address, for the first time, the evolving risks tied to cryptocurrency-linked investments and the firm’s expanding use of Artificial Intelligence tools.