Wayne Ivan Miiler, of Scottsdale, Arizona, president of Accelerated Capital Group Inc., has been fined $10,000.00 and suspended for six months from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity based upon consenting to findings that he failed to supervise the firm’s chief compliance officer and supervisor for stockbrokers located in the firm’s branch office. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent, No. 2012033566204 (Dec. 13, 2017).
According to the AWC, Miiler was obligated as the firm’s president to supervise the firm’s staff, including JR – the firm’s chief compliance officer and supervisor of stockbrokers. The AWC stated that even though Miiler delegated supervisory responsibilities to JR, Miiler was still responsible for making sure that JR’s duties had been properly executed and for addressing concerns of any inadequate supervision on her part. Apparently, Miiler neglected to address obvious concerns about the inadequacies in the firm’s’ supervision systems in addition to concerns about JR having been incapable of supervising one of the firm’s stockbrokers, BM, who effected unauthorized, unsuitable and excessive transactions in customers’ investment accounts.
The AWC stated that no adequate remedial or corrective action was taken by Miiler after JR informed Miiler that she was not able to adequately analyze mutual fund switch reports and trade blotters. Evidently, Miiler failed to recognize that JR failed to have the necessary training and experience to conduct the requisite monitoring of trading even though JR was provided with a compliance consultant to assist her in her duties.
The AWC stated that Miiler did not appropriately respond to information provided from JR in reference to BM’s excessive trading of class A mutual fund shares in customer accounts. Particularly, BM’s activities were subject of heightened supervision in March of 2014; however, none of BM’s customers whose accounts were exposed to BM’s trading had been contacted by JR or anyone else at the firm to determine whether trading was approved by them. Apparently, the failure for BM’s customers to be contacted in that regard led to unauthorized transactions having been effected in nine customer accounts, and excessive transactions in eleven.
Moreover, the AWC stated that during the time that BM had been subject of the firm’s heightened supervision, he implemented a swing trade investment strategy involving customers who had already been exposed to BM’s inappropriate class A mutual fund share trading. BM’s activities were reportedly unsupervised based upon there having been no exception report detailing excessive trading coupled with the failure of JR to identify within the firm’s trade blotter that excessive trading transpired in customer accounts. Consequently, FINRA found that Miiler’s conduct was violative of FINRA Rules 2010, 3110(a) and NASD Rule 3010(a).
FINRA Public Disclosure reveals that Miiler has been identified in three customer initiated investment related disputes containing allegations of his misconduct while employed with Accelerated Capital Group. Particularly, a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim involving Miiler’s conduct was settled for $165,000.00 in damages supported by allegations that equity trades were effected in the customer’s account on an excessive and unauthorized basis. FINRA Arbitration No. 15-03471 (Feb. 1, 2016).
Subsequently, a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim relating to Miiler’s activities was settled for $110,000.00 in damages based upon accusations of negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, violation of California Corporation Securities Laws, violation of Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Section 20, and violation of FINRA Rules 3110, 2111, 2120 and 2020 in relation to equity transactions effected in the customer’s account. FINRA Arbitration No. 16-01433 (May 8, 2017).
Thereafter, a customer filed an investment related written complaint pertaining to Miiler’s improper conduct, in which the customer requested $340,000.00 in damages based upon allegations of omissions and misrepresentations, breach of contract and fiduciary duties, over-concentration, negligence, and the failure to supervise alternative investment transactions effected in the customer’s account. FINRA Arbitration No. 17-01178 (May 12, 2017).
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