FINRA Expels APS Financial, Bars Former President and Former Broker for Targeting an Elderly Investor with Fraudulently Excessive Mark-ups

Elderly Investor Was Overcharged $1.2 Million, Mark-Ups as High as 67 Percent

WASHINGTON – The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has expelled APS Financial Corporation, located in Austin, Texas, barred the firm's former President, George Conwill, and barred Peter Aman, a former broker at the firm, in a scheme which overcharged an elderly investor by $1.2 million.

FINRA found that Aman charged mark-ups ranging from 4.15 percent to fraudulently excessive mark-ups as high as 67 percent when executing 45 transactions for customers of APS Financial. Forty-three of these excessive or fraudulent mark-ups were related to transactions for the accounts of a single elderly investor. Aman overcharged this elderly investor by more than $1.2 million through undisclosed mark-ups, including $767,000 in fraudulently excessive mark-ups.

FINRA also barred Conwill and expelled APS Financial for rule violations relating to trading in corporate high yield bonds, collateralized mortgage obligations and collateralized debt obligations. Both APS Financial and Conwill were cited for charging excessive mark-ups and supervision violations.

"FINRA is committed to ensuring that firms charge their customers reasonable fees in connection with the purchase and sale of fixed income and other debt securities. There is no room in the securities industry for those who prey upon elderly investors," said Thomas Gira, Executive Vice President of FINRA's Department of Market Regulation.

In total, APS Financial Corporation overcharged customers on 59 transactions. Conwill approved all 53 mark-ups above 5 percent, including 42 of the 43 excessive or fraudulent mark-ups for the elderly investor's accounts.

FINRA also determined that APS Financial Corporation failed to establish and maintain an adequate supervisory system and otherwise failed to reasonably and properly supervise the firm and its registered representatives so as to detect and prevent the mark-up violations. FINRA found that Conwill, as the firm's president at the time of the violations, failed to take reasonable steps to ensure that the firm established and maintained an adequate supervisory system, and failed to reasonably and properly supervise the firm's registered representatives.

APS Financial Corporation, Aman and Conwill settled these matters without admitting or denying the allegations, but consented to the entry of FINRA's findings.

Investors can obtain more information about, and the disciplinary record of, any FINRA-registered broker or brokerage firm by using FINRA's BrokerCheck. FINRA makes BrokerCheck available at no charge. In 2009, members of the public used this service to conduct 18.5 million reviews of broker or firm records. Investors can access BrokerCheck at www.finra.org/brokercheck or by calling (800) 289-9999.

FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest non-governmental regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation and complementary compliance and technology-based services. FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business – from registering and educating all industry participants to examining securities firms, writing and enforcing rules and the federal securities laws, informing and educating the investing public, providing trade reporting and other industry utilities, and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and registered firms. For more information, please visit www.finra.org.