Jason Read Richmond of Los Angeles, CA, formerly of Samuels Chase & Co

In August 2009, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced they had ordered the permanent bar of Jason Read Richmond, a registered principal who had been employed by Samuels Chase & Co. since 1996. In FINRA’s full disciplinary report of the broker, Richmond allegedly fabricated trade confirmations so he could illegally benefit from class action lawsuits.

As a registered principal, Richmond was responsible for overseeing operations – including regulatory compliance – for other brokers at Samuels Chase & Co. According to FINRA, Richmond used his supervisory powers to support phony claims awarding him in excess of $85,000.

In addition to violating NASD ethics rules involving brokers, this behavior also risks the legitimate settlement claims put forth by customers who were hoping to recoup on losses that were the result of broker fraud. As FINRA are still in the early stages of their investigation, it is unclear which financial products were involved with the class action lawsuits, and no additional information about those lawsuits have yet been provided.

We are currently investigating Mr. Richmond. If you or an organization with which you are affiliated have entrusted your money to Mr. Richmond, we would like to hear from you.

FURTHER READING:

In August 2009, FINRA announced they had permanently barred registered principal Jason Read Richmond from associating with any member firm in any capacity. FINRA issued the following report related to Richmond:

Jason Read Richmond (CRD #2467462, Registered Principal, Los Angeles, California) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Richmond consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that he created fictitious trade confirmations and used them to support proof of claims filed in class action lawsuits to recoup settlement claims in excess of $85,000 to which he was not entitled by falsely presenting himself as a legitimate class member. (FINRA Case #2008013593201)