The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority suspended broker David Waldemar Asplund, Jr. after the State of Washington Department of Financial Institutions, Securities Division found that Asplund had borrowed $40,000 from a customer and had accepted gifts, entering into a personal financial transaction and acted as trustee for another customer without disclosing these activities to his associated firm, FSIC.
Furthermore, FINRA discovered that Asplund had twice borrowed $20,000 from one customer in 2005 and again in 2006, before borrowing $10,000 from another investor in 2008. FINRA determined that in all three cases, Asplund failed to inform FSIC's Chief Compliance Officer of these loans, in violation of both the firm's written supervisory policies and in violation of multiple NASD conduct rules.
FINRA also charged Asplund with engaging in outside business activities without promptly notifying his employer firm, discovering that Asplund owned and operated his own company, Ditto Enterprises, LLC, and was additionally employed by Heath Diesel, Inc.
Last, Asplund was found to have failed to amend his Form U4 after a 2009 settlement between Asplund and a customer's estate, enforced by the Superior Court of Washington for King County and unsatisfied until June 22, 2010. Specifically, question 14M of the U4, which asks, "Do you have any unsatisfied judgments or liens against you?" should have therefore been amended to read "yes" during the period between the Superior Court's entering of an Order Enforcing Settlement and Asplund's partial payment of the settlement on May 15, 2009, in which Asplund discharged $90,000 of the $115,502.67 settlement.
As a result of the investigation, FINRA suspended Asplund through March 17, 2013.
If a broker has borrowed money from you and failed to repay the loan in violation of firm policy or engaged in other activities that have proven harmful to your investments or interests, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.