J.D. Nicholas & Associates, Inc. (JDNAA) is a broker-dealer located in Syosset, NY. JDNAA was formed in Florida and registered with the Federal Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in 1998. JDNAA is licensed to operate in 52 U.S. states and territories. J.D. Nicholas, formerly known as A&F Financial, has 6 regulatory events on its FINRA BrokerCheck report, the most recent occurring in March, 2015. J.D. Nicholas submitted a letter of acceptance, waiver and consent (AWC) to FINRA's allegations that the firm engaged in telemarketing activities to telephone numbers on the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) Do Not Call (DNC) registry. The FINRA report states that some of the numbers were called multiple times because JDNAA's system failed to block outgoing calls to registered numbers. Further, FINRA found that JDNAA did not adhere to regulatory rules that require the firm to report complaints to the FINRA reporting system. J.D. Nicholas was censured and fined $35,000. In June 2013, the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation submitted a complaint that J.D. Nicholas was placing outbound telephone calls to its residents who were registered on the FTC Do Not Call registry. In addition to being ordered to pay a $40,000 fine, JDNAA was prohibited from placing any telemarketing calls to residents of New Hampshire for one year. Similarly, in February 2013, the Arkansas Securities Commissioner filed a complaint alleging J.D. Nicholas violated the Arkansas Securities Act by calling numbers registered on the FTC Do Not Call list in 2011. The complaint also alleged that from March 2008 through November 2011, the firm charged its Arkansas clients a $65.00 non-disclosed "postage and handling" fee that generated $17,875 for the firm. $3,347 of the money was used to pay for transaction costs and the firm kept the remaining $14,527.60 as commissions. J.D. Nicholas was fined $17,500 for violating FTC's telemarketing rules and for charging undisclosed fees. JDNAA was required to reimburse Arkansas clients $14,527.60, and ordered to cease and desist violating DNC restrictions. FINRA censured and fined J.D. Nicholas $125,000 in September, 2011 for charging its clients a commission as well as a $65.00 handling fee. The FINRA complaint stated that the fee was designed to be a source of transaction-based revenue for the firm in the same way a commission is, rather than to cover transaction-related expenses. In addition to fining J.D. Nicholas $125,000, FINRA required the firm to take corrective actions and perform training as necessary to prevent similar future violations. In 2010, A&F Financial was found to have failed to report information concerning customer complaints in a timely manner, and did not create or maintain records of those complaints. A&F also did not implement heightened supervisory procedures with respect to three registered brokers who engaged in excessive trading and suitability abuse. J.D. Nicholas submitted a letter of acceptance, waiver and consent (AWC) and paid a $27,000 fine. Cold Spring Advisory is working with clients to recover their lost capital from J.D Nicholas & Associates. If you or someone you know suffered losses with J.D. Nicholas, please contact us today. We will analyse your JDNAA account(s) for free and let you know if you have an eligible case for capital loss recovery.
