Sterne Agee Broker Suspended for Outside Business Activity and Unsuitable Recommendation
John Corsi, a registered representative with Sterne Agee Financial Services, Inc. (Sterne Agee) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) in which he was suspended and assessed a deferred fine of $20,000 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for engaging in outside business activity and making unsuitable promissory note recommendations to his customers. According to FINRA, John Paul Corsi, of Parma, Ohio, failed to fully disclose his involvement in an outside business activity to his member firm, failed to disclose his role in fundraising and the promissory notes issued by his outside business activity that he was allegedly recommending to firm customers for compensation. Mr. Corsi was found by FINRA to have received a fee of 5% for these promissory note recommendations, of which his customers invested a total of $1,790,041. Of those customers, three were allegedly unsuitably invested in 20% or more of their stated net worth. These customers’ investment objectives were allegedly much more conservative then the promissory notes’ significant risk profile.
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