Did you lose money investing with Joshua Helmle (CRD# 2195760)?
Galvin Legal, PLLC is launching an investigation on behalf of investors who may have suffered losses investing with Joshua Helmle. If you suffered losses investing with Joshua Helmle, then Galvin Legal, PLLC may be able to help you recover your losses in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA“) arbitration claim.
If you suffered losses and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
As of January 28, 2023, Joshua Helmle’s FINRA BrokerCheck Report contains the following:
BARRED: FINRA has barred this individual from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with a broker-dealer firm.
Disclosure Events
2 Customer Disputes
1 Regulatory Event
1 Employment Separation After Allegations
September 9, 2021 – An OHO decision became final in which Helmle was barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities. The sanction was based on the findings that Helmle and his member firm, which he owned and operated, improperly allowed a person to associate with the firm when the person was subject to statutory disqualification. The findings stated that Helmle and the firm allowed the disqualified person to engage in the firm’s securities business in a manner that required him to be registered when he was not. The National Adjudicatory Council (NAC) issued a formal FINRA decision denying a Membership Continuance Application (MC-400) that the firm submitted seeking permission for the person to associate with it despite his disqualification. Helmle ignored an initial warning from FINRA that the person was prohibited from associating with the firm and implemented a plan to evade the prohibition. More than six months after the MC-400 application was denied, Helmle and a close business associate of the disqualified person together wrote a letter to customers to inform them that for the time being, the disqualified person would not be their official registered representative. Instead, the business associate would be the customers’ acting representative. At the same time, the letter reassured customers that the disqualified person was still generating investment ideas for them, and his business associate was still providing excellent and timely customer service. The letter promised that customers could request time with the disqualified person to discuss the stock market, economic issues and company-specific information. Helmle and the business associate described the changes after the MC-400 decision as semantics. The letter obscured the true nature of the situation, which was that FINRA had denied the approval necessary for the disqualified person to speak to the firm’s customers about securities and their portfolios. Customers continued to see the disqualified person as their broker, not the business associate. (FINRA Case #2018056436001)
Current and Previous Registrations
02/19/2002 – 12/17/2020 INTEGRITY BROKERAGE, LLC (CRD#:117589) Monterey Park, CA
06/06/2000 – 12/14/2001 TRADEWAY SECURITIES GROUP, INC. (CRD#:29794) CARLSBAD, CA
03/22/1999 – 05/09/2000 D.E. FREY & COMPANY, INC. (CRD#:23595) DENVER, CO
10/22/1997 – 03/18/1999 TITAN/VALUE EQUITIES GROUP, INC. (CRD#:6359) IRVINE, CA
02/27/1997 – 07/25/1997 NICHOLAS-APPLEGATE SECURITIES (A CALIFORNIA LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) (CRD#:31205) SAN DIEGO, CA
05/28/1996 – 03/04/1997 JACK WHITE & COMPANY, INC. (CRD#:7645)
01/09/1992 – 11/24/1992 LEGEND CAPITAL CORPORATION (CRD#:4149) PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL
12/12/1991 – 12/23/1991 TITAN/VALUE EQUITIES GROUP, INC. (CRD#:6359) IRVINE, CA
If you suffered losses and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
Due Diligence Requirement
FINRA requires broker’s to conduct due diligence on investments and to conduct a suitability analysis when recommending securities to a customer that takes into account the customer’s knowledge and experience. FINRA Rule 2111(a) states that “a member or an associated person must have a reasonable basis to believe that a recommended transaction or investment strategy involving a security or securities is suitable for the customer, based on the information obtained through the reasonable diligence of the member or associated person to ascertain the customer’s investment profile. A customer’s investment profile includes, but is not limited to, the customer’s age, other investments, financial situation and needs, tax status, investment objectives, investment experience, investment time horizon, liquidity needs, risk tolerance, and any other information the customer may disclose to the member or associated person in connection with such recommendation.”
Rule 2111 is composed of three main obligations: reasonable-basis suitability, customer-specific suitability, and quantitative suitability. Brokers and the brokerage firms they work for that fail to conduct adequate due diligence on investments they recommend or that make unsuitable recommendations can be held responsible for the customer’s losses in a FINRA arbitration claim.
If you suffered losses and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
Request a Free Consultation with a Securities Attorney
If you suffered losses investing with Joshua Helmle and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
This information is all publicly available and is being provided to you by Galvin Legal, PLLC.
Galvin Legal, PLLC is a national securities arbitration, securities mediation, securities litigation, securities fraud, securities regulation and compliance, and investor protection law practice. For more information on Galvin Legal, PLLC and its representation of investors, please visit www.galvinlegal.com or call 1-800-405-5117.
