Reg BI Violations Lead to FINRA's Fine on Another Broker-Dealer

Posted on September 19th, 2023 at 10:26 AM
Reg BI Violations Lead to FINRA's Fine on Another Broker-Dealer

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law 

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined and censured broker-dealer Network 1 Financial Securities and its chief compliance officer for violating Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI).

According to FINRA's order, Network 1 failed to establish, maintain, and enforce a supervisory system, including written supervisory procedures (WSPs), reasonably designed to achieve compliance with the suitability requirements of FINRA Rule 2111 and the Care Obligation of Reg BI related to excessive trading in violation of FINRA Rules 3110 and 2010 from January 2016 through March 2022.

Network 1 also violated Reg BI's Compliance Obligation by failing to establish, maintain, and enforce WSPs reasonably designed for compliance with Reg BI, which became effective on June 30, 2020. According to the order, from July 2017 through March 2022, Network 1's chief compliance officer, Michael Molinaro (Molinaro), violated FINRA Rules 3110 and 2010 by not establishing, maintaining, and enforcing a supervisory system, including WSPs, reasonably designed to achieve compliance with FINRA Rule 2111 and Reg BI, with regard to excessive trading.

As reported by ThinkAdvisor, Network 1 received an order to pay a $200,000 fine and restitution totaling $533,587 plus interest. Meanwhile, Michael Molinaro faces a three-month suspension from associating with any FINRA member firm and was fined $5,000.

 

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

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, finra

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

You guys are good!

Mike L.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

February 6, 2026
Delaware Regulators Fine Kovack Advisors $985,000

Kovack Advisors Inc., the registered investment adviser affiliate of independent broker-dealer Kovack Securities Inc., agreed to pay a $985,000 fine to Delaware securities regulators.

February 5, 2026
FINRA Fines Broker-Dealer for Repeated Form CRS Disclosure Failures

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined VSI Securities Inc., formerly known as Venecredit Securities Inc., $20,000 for failing to accurately disclose the firm’s disciplinary history in its customer relationship summary, known as Form CRS.

February 4, 2026
Investor Redemptions Rise in Nontraded BDCs Amid Credit Concerns

Financial advisors and their clients have increased redemptions from nontraded business development companies (BDCs) following a series of high-profile corporate bankruptcies, according to InvestmentNews. The surge highlights growing investor concern about liquidity and credit exposure within these high-yield but often risky investment ...