Erez Law is currently investigating Integrity Brokerage LLC broker Joshua Helmle (CRD# 2195760) regarding investment fraud. He was registered with Integrity Brokerage LLC in Monterey Park, California from 2002 to 2020, when he was terminated regarding, “Internal investigation into the performance of supervisory responsibilities, potential breach of firm procedures, unauthorized representation of firm in a disciplinary proceeding and prior alleged conduct in an enforcement proceeding.”
In September 2021, FINRA barred Joshua Helmle following allegations that “he and his member firm permitted and enabled a statutorily disqualified person to associate with the firm and engage in its securities business despite his disqualified status. The complaint alleges that the firm, acting through Helmle, failed to register the disqualified person with FINRA in any capacity, including in the capacity of a General Securities Representative. The firm and Helmle each permitted and enabled the disqualified person to engage in firm securities business without being appropriately registered.” He was also sanctioned to pay costs in the amount of $10,753.33. According to FINRA, “The sanctions are based on findings that the firm and Helmle improperly allowed a person to associate with the firm when he was subject to a statutory disqualification and allowed him to engage in the firm’s securities business in a manner that required him to be registered when he was not… Helmle and a firm registered representative together wrote a letter to customers to inform them that for now, the person would not be their official registered representative. Instead, the representative would be their acting registered representative. At the same time, the letter reassured customers that the person was still generating investment ideas for them and the representative was still providing ‘excellent and timely customer service.’ The letter promised that customers could request time with the person to discuss the stock market, economic issues, and company-specific information. Helmle and the representative described the changes after the MC-400 decision as semantics. The letter obscured the true nature of the situation, being that FINRA had denied the approval necessary for the person to speak to the firm’s customers about securities and their portfolios. Customers continued to see the person as their broker, not the representative.”
Joshua Helmle Customer Complaints
He has been the subject of two customer complaints between 2010 and 2021, according to his CRD report. The most recent complaint was regarding:
December 2021. “Helmle was named Respondent in this matter as the owner of the firm and Chief Compliance Officer at the time where his former registered rep, Jan Earl Haynes, asked clients to write checks payable to Haynes Financial Group, his DBA, who is no longer responding to the client inquiries regarding whereabouts of their investment dollars. These activities would have occurred between the approximate dates of 2017 and 2018. It would be fair to state, however, that Haynes also recommended securities to the same clients in which they made profit; such investments were done by writing checks directly to the issuer and/or the clearing firm. Also noteworthy are the investment objectives that these clients entered on their new account forms: (1) Romano: capital appreciation, accredited yes, and 20 years investment experience; (2) Shillington: capital appreciation, accredited yes, and 10 years investment experience; (3) Wein: capital appreciation, $999,999 net worth, and 20 years investment experience. In their arbitration brief, the clients are making claims of (1) having no investment experience, (2) elderly abuse (at which time their ages were 68, 64, and 68 respectively), (3) includes false references to other investments that have failed (Preferred Apartment Communities, Moody REIT II), and (4) falsely includes a claimant that was never a client at Integrity (Italo Romano).” The customer is seeking $489,862.00 in damages and the case is currently pending.
Pursuant to FINRA Rules, member firms are responsible for supervising a broker’s activities during the time the broker is registered with the firm. Therefore, Integrity Brokerage LLC may be liable for investment or other losses suffered by Joshua Helmle’s customers.
Erez Law represents investors in the United States for claims against brokers and brokerage firms for wrongdoing. If you have experienced investment losses, please call us at 888-840-1571 or complete our contact form for a free consultation. Erez Law is a nationally recognized law firm representing individuals, trusts, corporations and institutions in claims against brokerage firms, banks and insurance companies on a contingency fee basis.
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