Shawn Baldwin & CMG Institutional Trading vs. FINRA Part 1

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    1 s 1 1 A . - r a NALHEADCAUARTEIRS930 East 50th StreetChicago, Illinois 60615

    Phone: (773) 373-3366 Y Fax: (773) 373-3571RIUM3OW PU

    katIonal Headquarters330 Seel 50th StreetChicago. IL 80515(773) 373-3386 (Freedom) Office(773) 37?-3571 Fax

    Septem ber 13, 20 10

    Mr. Richard. G. KetchumChairman and Chief Executive OfficerFIN RA1735 K StreetWashington, D.C. 20006Dear Mr. Ketchum:I am writing to request a meeting with you to discuss a matter concerning acons tituent and member of our International Trade Bureau, Sh.awn D. Baldwin ,and his firm, CMG Institutional Trading LLC ("CMG"). Mr. Baldwin hasbrought to my attention a number of concerns that he has regarding recentac tivity involving FIN -RA and certain FINRA executives, and is alleging thatcertain of this activity has resulted in a substantial impact on the productiveoperation of his firm due to a number of what are believed to be unsupportedallegations by Mr. nil Harris, from approximately 2001 until 2006.Mr. Baldwin acquired a broker-dealer and built his investment bank to aprominent position garnering accolades from various trade magazines andearning numerous industry awards .. Mr. Baldwin also had the honor ot securinga sponsorship as the national spokesperson for Blackberry during this time. Ashis success increased, the alleged mistreatm ent from those certain FINRA.executives seemedto build. It was during this time that Mr. Baldwin begandocumenting this perceived mistreatment beginning in2002, and to this point,has attorneys formerly from the NASD (AKA FINRA) and the SEC that haveindicated their willingness to attest to this mistreatment by these FINRAexecutives based on their knowledge of the present circumstances. During thisperiod Mr. Baldwin contacted the head of the office at FINRA with letters, aswell as the Ombudsman and the SEC, and copied letters to members of theGAO, and was met with nooffer of assistance. We have been provided withcopies of all referenced correspondence as well as voicemaiis from the manymessages that Mr. Baldwin left. Mr. Baldwin even flew to Washington, D.C. inan. attempt to sec ure a meeting with senior FIN RA. officials and while there metbriefly with Barbara Sweeney, but he was not permitted to meet with anyoneelse to outline his many grievances.

    LaSalle StreetProjectLecatco within the Natlona;Office in Chicay. ILPeachtree Street Project100 Auburn AvenueSuite lelAtlanta, GA 30303(404) 525-5663 Office(404) 525-5233 FAXAutomotive Project4.335 W. Fort StreetDetroit, MI 49209313)842-3853 Of5ce;313) 842-2625 FaxEnergy Project2616 SouTh Loop WattSuite 100Houston, TX 77054(713)432.0209(713) 432-9000Ertterteirerent Project1313 8th StreetSuite 232Loa Am:toles. CA 90017(21314183-3500 Office(213)6.83-3517 Far.Wall Street Project5 Hanover Square2ne FloorNew York, NY 10004212) 425-7374 Office2t21988-1412 FexSilicon VI:1119y Project1400 85th StreetEmeryville, CA 94808(510) 856-6258 OftIce(510) 336-6893 FaxPublic. Policy IToiocorntrunicattomt Project727 15th Street NWSuite 1200Washl0c100, OC 20005(202) 393-1455 Fax

    Rev. JesseL, JaCicsOn, Sr.. Foamier &PmairlarnMartin L. King, Chaletanwww.raintowptish.org

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    .iUe" it/ ZtJILILPage TwoMr. KetchumAfter a num ber of incidents, FriellIA. D istrict S launched a proceeding against M r. Baldwin andhis firm that consisted of claims of net capital deficiency along with. 42 other points; by the timeof the proceeding, these 42 points had. been reduced to 3. In two o f the three points it wasdetermined that the top three officials had lied under oath and were forced to recant theirtestimony. On the third point, which involved officials alleging that they did not receive adeposit ticket for a wire, Mr. Baldwin and his firm were expelled.From our initial review, it appears that the first expulsion was not warranted and the claims ofnet capital deficiency were untrue and can be verified by a review of the focus reports and bankstatements. The proceeding and judgment were based on an allegation of an unregulatedcompany in which FINRA had no jurisdiction. The transcripts and recorded messages alsoclearly indicated Mr. Baldwin's intention that be would offer all information for the regulatedcompany. The 2-year suspension for not providing a deposit ticket for a wire transfer for anunregulated company appeared to be unfair, and impossible, since deposit tickets do not exist forwire transfers and since the wire was initiated by another party. This extreme focus on Mr.Baldwin occurred when he had only institutional clients, during a period when individuals likeBernard Madoff were allowed to take billions of dollars from innocent investors, unchecked. Itis our understanding that, to date, FINRA , officials have refused to perform. a net capitalcomputation for the many alleged net capital deficiencies when in fact CM G had over $440,000,had made over $900,000 in that quarter and had receivables of hundreds of thousands of dollars.Mr. Baldwin withdrew all of his capital from the broker-dealer and stopped all reporting toFINRA and the broker-dealer was subsequently expelled pursuant to Rule 9552. AlthoughFINRA officials have alleged since CMG's admittance that they believed net capital wasdeficient and interrupted CMG's business multiple times under, the guise of protecting the public,FINRA reinstated the CMG broker-dealer without capital or reporting - a position that seemedantithetical to their stated mission and their position with respect to CMG. This amounted to Mr.Baldwin being taken through proceedings although he was in Europe, had no clearing agreementand had written and stated that he would not conduct any securities business during one of theworst times of financial crisis. FINRA, officials ran two additional proceedings against Baldwinand CMG despite the fact that neither has been in a securities transaction since December of2005. We also note that another proceeding was initiated soon after Mr. Baldwin made atelevised appearance on NBC discussing unrelated matters. It came to Mr. Baldwin's attentionthat, following this appearance, a comment was made by a member of the Department ofEnforcement, Pamela Sim, in which she referred to him as a "menace" and further stating toBaldwin's attorney that they were "amazed that he continued to get back upno matter howmany times he was knocked down."The substitution of documents during the second proceeding can easily be validated by thedocuments submitted in 2006 by Mr. Baldwin's attorney to the NAC and the SEC, and M r.Baldwin pointed out as much verbally during the proceedings.

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    Respect 11 ,

    Reverj d JessJackson, Sr.Fourier and PresidentPage ThreeMr. KetchumThis was not reviewed. by the NAC, and we believe that the previous proceedings involving thetop three officials recanting their testimony after a determination was made that they were lyingunder oath regarding whether certain, requested documents were received should be taken intofull consideration.There are many other incidents too numerous to list that have been documented arid that suggestthe strong possibility that Mr. Baldwin was singled out and subject to unwarranted scrutiny. Mr.Baldwin's platinum reputation has been severely tarnished as a direct result of FINRA's actionswhich essentially destroyed his multi-million dollar business and has had the continuing effect ofseverely limiting his opportunities due to the negative references made against him and his firmthat remain on the FINRA website. We believe it of note that, during M r. Baldwin's entiretenure neither he nor his organization, nor any of his employees, had ever received a customercomplaint. As Mr. Baldwin has continued to write for Forbes and exert his influence and.knowledge in other prominent forums, we are concerned at any actions by executives of FINRAthat may continue to undermine or reduce M r. Baldwin's credibility.Accordingly, we would appreciate having the opportunity to meet to discuss these matters withyou, with the hope that together we can work to resolve this matter amicably for the benefit of allparties involved. Please contact my Special Counsel, Brenda Robinson, Esq., on (773)314-6420.