J.P. Morgan Securities recently paid $51,400 to the Delaware Department of Justice for allegedly failing to ensure its agents were properly registered and failing to properly record trade data.
The settlement agreement spans multiple states, and J.P. Morgan Securities has agreed to pay up to a total of $2,790,625 in civil penalties among the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The inquiry into J.P. Morgan Securities was coordinated by the North American Securities Administrators Association and led by the New Hampshire Board of Securities Regulation.
“Our financial system only works when everyone plays by the rules, and there must be accountability when the rules are broken,” Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden said. “State law requires those who sell stocks and securities to Delaware investors to be registered with our Investor Protection Unit, and to record their trades properly.”
J.P. Morgan Securities has since revised its client transaction processes and supervisory procedures. Previously, its order entry system allowed agents not registered in Delaware to accept orders from investors in Delaware.
“Ensuring that J.P. Morgan Securities follows the law and its agents register with us gives my office the ability to protect the investments, pensions and retirement funds of Delawareans,” Biden said.