SEC v. Christopher Booth Kennedy, No. LR-26191, Central District of California (Dec. 10, 2024) — Press Release
raw: Christopher Booth Kennedy
Christopher Booth Kennedy, No. 2:24-cv-10608 (Dec. 10, 2024)
summary
Former broker Christopher Booth Kennedy settled SEC charges for securities fraud and Regulation Best Interest violations that caused over $9 million in customer losses.
paragraph
Christopher Booth Kennedy, a former broker at Western International Securities, Inc., was charged with violating antifraud provisions and Regulation Best Interest. His misconduct involved falsifying account statements and recommending a high-volume strategy that facilitated $363 million in transactions. To settle the matter, Kennedy agreed to pay $958,134 in disgorgement, $218,267 in prejudgment interest, and a $958,134 civil penalty.
narrative
The SEC filed a civil injunctive action against former broker Christopher Booth Kennedy for securities fraud and Regulation Best Interest violations. Between 2020 and 2021, Kennedy made misleading statements regarding his trading strategy and sent falsified account statements to customers to overstate account values. He also recommended a high-volume, short-term investment strategy across 19 retail accounts, leading to $363 million in total transactions. This conduct ultimately resulted in more than $9 million in losses for his customers. Kennedy faces charges under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. To resolve the litigation, he agreed to a settlement including a permanent injunction and total payments of approximately $2.13 million. This settlement comprises $958,134 in disgorgement, $218,267 in interest, and a $958,134 civil penalty.
Classified broker-dealer-fraud(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms Form D· recall 29% / precision 9%. detection rule →
Statutes
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionChristopher Booth Kennedy
Keywords
kennedychristopher boothbooth kennedysecuritiessecurities exchangeexchange commissionbest interestchristopherboothexchangesecinterestkennedy securitiesregulation bestformer broker
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 4
- $363.00M $363 million $100M–$1B
- $9.00M $9 million $1M–$10M
- $958K $958,134 $100K–$1M
- $218K $218,267 $100K–$1M
Entities 3
- person christopher booth kennedy
- agency Finra
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
Triples 9
- Securities And Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive action against former broker Christopher Booth Kennedy for securities law violations that resulted in millions of dollars of losses for his former brokerage customers
- Christopher Booth Kennedy made false and misleading statements to his customers regarding the value and success of his trading strategy between February 2021 and July 2021
- Christopher Booth Kennedy sent one customer falsified account statements that grossly overstated the value of the customer's account
- Christopher Booth Kennedy violated Regulation Best Interest by recommending a short-term, high-volume investment strategy in 19 brokerage retail customer accounts without a reasonable basis between July 2020 and July 2021
- Christopher Booth Kennedy resulted in more than $363 million in total transactions spread through the 19 accounts, ultimately resulting in over $9 million in customer losses
- Securities And Exchange Commission charges Christopher Booth Kennedy with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as well as Regulation Best Interest, Rule 15l-1(a) of the Exchange Act
- Christopher Booth Kennedy agreed to settle the above charges by consenting to the entry of an injunction, agreeing to pay $958,134 in disgorgement with $218,267 in prejudgment interest and a $958,134 civil penalty
- Securities And Exchange Commission conducted investigation by David Rosen and supervised by Marc Blau
- FINRA brought charges against Christopher Booth Kennedy related to this conduct
Extracted body text (2,219c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26191 / December 10, 2024 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Christopher Booth Kennedy, No. 2:24-cv-10608 (C.D. Cal. filed Dec. 10, 2024) SEC Announces Settlement of Fraud and Regulation Best Interest Violations Against Christopher Booth Kennedy, a Former Broker The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive action against former broker Christopher Booth Kennedy for securities law violations that resulted in millions of dollars of losses for his former brokerage customers. According to the SEC's complaint, between February 2021 and July 2021, Kennedy, who formerly worked as a registered representative at Western International Securities, Inc., made false and misleading statements to his customers regarding the value and success of his trading strategy. The SEC alleges that Kennedy's fraudulent conduct included sending one customer falsified account statements that grossly overstated the value of the customer's account. The complaint further alleges that between July 2020 and July 2021, Kennedy also violated Reg Best Interest by recommending a short-term, high-volume investment strategy in 19 brokerage retail customer accounts without a reasonable basis for doing so. The SEC alleges that Kennedy's recommendations resulted in more than $363 million in total transactions spread through the 19 accounts, ultimately resulting in over $9 million in customer losses. The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, charges Kennedy with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as well as Regulation Best Interest, Rule 15l-1(a) of the Exchange Act. Kennedy has agreed to settle the above charges, by consenting to the entry of an injunction, agreeing to pay $958,134 in disgorgement with $218,267 in prejudgment interest and a $958,134 civil penalty. The SEC's investigation was conducted by David Rosen and supervised by Marc Blau. The SEC acknowledges the assistance of FINRA, which also brought charges against Kennedy related to this conduct.
OCR text (2,219c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26191 / December 10, 2024 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Christopher Booth Kennedy, No. 2:24-cv-10608 (C.D. Cal. filed Dec. 10, 2024) SEC Announces Settlement of Fraud and Regulation Best Interest Violations Against Christopher Booth Kennedy, a Former Broker The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive action against former broker Christopher Booth Kennedy for securities law violations that resulted in millions of dollars of losses for his former brokerage customers. According to the SEC's complaint, between February 2021 and July 2021, Kennedy, who formerly worked as a registered representative at Western International Securities, Inc., made false and misleading statements to his customers regarding the value and success of his trading strategy. The SEC alleges that Kennedy's fraudulent conduct included sending one customer falsified account statements that grossly overstated the value of the customer's account. The complaint further alleges that between July 2020 and July 2021, Kennedy also violated Reg Best Interest by recommending a short-term, high-volume investment strategy in 19 brokerage retail customer accounts without a reasonable basis for doing so. The SEC alleges that Kennedy's recommendations resulted in more than $363 million in total transactions spread through the 19 accounts, ultimately resulting in over $9 million in customer losses. The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, charges Kennedy with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as well as Regulation Best Interest, Rule 15l-1(a) of the Exchange Act. Kennedy has agreed to settle the above charges, by consenting to the entry of an injunction, agreeing to pay $958,134 in disgorgement with $218,267 in prejudgment interest and a $958,134 civil penalty. The SEC's investigation was conducted by David Rosen and supervised by Marc Blau. The SEC acknowledges the assistance of FINRA, which also brought charges against Kennedy related to this conduct.