SEC obtains judgment against J.H. Darbie in SARs reporting case

New York-based brokerage firm J.H. Darbie & Co. consented to pay a $125,000 penalty to resolve charges levied by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the firm failed to report suspicious activity regarding penny stock transactions.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered judgment against J.H. Darbie on Sept. 13, the SEC announced in a litigation release Friday. The outcome resolves a complaint filed by the SEC in December alleging the firm failed to report suspicious activity on “tens of billions” of shares of low-priced securities.

J.H. Darbie must also retain an independent anti-money laundering (AML) compliance consultant as part of the judgment’s requirements.