The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred a Los Angeles broker from the industry, according to AdvisorHub.
The action was taken against Antoine Souma, who runs his own registered investment advisory firm, Galliott Capital Advisors in Beverly Hills.
The case stems from FINRA’s investigation of alleged private securities transactions during Souma’s work with independent-broker dealer Insigneo Securities, where he was registered from July 2020 to July 2022. The authority was conducting an investigation into whether Souma had violated industry regulations as well as a pending arbitration complaint against him.
According to FINRA’s letter of acceptance, waiver and consent, Souma agreed to be barred rather than cooperate with the regulatory investigation.
Souma was also penalized in November 2021 following allegations he had sent inaccurate account reports to a client that misstated account values and performance as well as understating commissions in one instance. In that case, Souma agreed to a two-month suspension and a $20,000 fine.
Souma’s attorney was quoted as saying the latest settlement would allow Souma to move on with his investment advisory business “without this distraction from FINRA.” His investment advisor license is not affected by FINRA’s bar because it is overseen by the SEC.
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