FINRA filed a complaint against Integrity Brokerage Services (Oceanside, CA) and CEO Joshua Nathan Helmle for purportedly allowing Marc Nathan Jaffe to associate with the firm and engage in securities business despite being statutorily disqualified, and despite FINRA specifically telling the firm it did not have permission to bring Jaffe aboard, an order Helmle purportedly rebuffed as "the biggest crock of * ever...their decision meant nothing to me."
In other words, firm principal Helmle appears to have allowed Jaffe, who owns a long track record of customer disputes totaling several millions in damages, to conduct securities business without proper registration: practicing without a license in defiance of FINRA's order that he not associate with Integrity Brokerage Services. Jaffe's BrokerCheck file doesn't include Integrity whatsoever in the Broker Registration History section.
As an illustration of the potential risk a customer could be exposed to with Jaffe serving as a broker or otherwise conducting securities business while disqualified, Jaffe has been involved in 25 customer disputes during his securities career with allegations ranging from unsuitable recommendations to unauthorized transactions and resulting in arbitration awards and settlements totaling over $4.8 million.
Enforcement's Complaint #2018056436001 names Josh Helmle (CRD #2195760), Marc Jaffe (CRD #2187547), and Integrity Brokerage Services representative Andrea Wood (CRD #2000589) at the firm's Oceanside, California and Indianapolis branches, claiming each played a role in allowing Jaffe to associate with Integrity Brokerage after he served a separate FINRA suspension and remained statutorily disqualified.
After FINRA denied Integrity's request to allow Jaffe to associate with the firm, CEO Helmle purportedly ignored FINRA's decision, uttering his famous quote: "the biggest crock of * ever" and stating, "their decision meant nothing to me."
A subsequent investigation found that in the time since FINRA's decision explicitly telling the firm it did not have permission to allow Jaffe to associate despite being statutorily disqualified, Jaffe communicated with IBS customers regarding their investments, received disguised commissions, and partnered with Wood to conduct her securities business at Integrity—all in contravention of FINRA's direct order that Jaffe not be permitted to associate with the firm.
Jaffe and Wood's BrokerCheck files list past affiliations with Finance 500, Inc. Finance 500 terminated Wood in 2015 for a "commission sharing arrangement in possible violation of FINRA Rule 2040 by transferring commissions to Jaffe Financial Service, Inc., a non-registered entity." Wood owns a company called Woodgroup, LLC.
FINRA and other regulators protect investors by enforcing industry standards/rules and disciplining brokers who run afoul of such policies. When a registered broker—and especially when a registered broker-dealer, such as Integrity Brokerage Services—defies FINRA's disciplinary orders, it runs afoul of industry rules and laws, putting investors at greater risk.
If you have invested with Integrity Brokerage Services' Joshua Helmle, Marc Jaffe, or Andrea Wood and have experienced losses or other damages stemming from the statutorily disqualified Jaffe's association with the firm despite the regulator's direct order that he not associate, please call an experienced FINRA arbitration attorney at The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.