Enforcement Initiatives, Developments and Priorities

This session provides an overview of new developments and trends in enforcement, including enforcement priorities. Panelists highlight noteworthy decisions and settlements that illustrate FINRA priorities, and provide guidance on regulatory and compliance practices.

Launch Conference Panel

Enforcement Initiatives, Developments and Priorities Panelist Bios:

Moderator:

Jessica Hopper is Executive Vice President and Head of Enforcement, responsible for FINRA’s disciplinary actions across the country. Prior to assuming this role in January 2020, she was Senior Vice President and Deputy Head of Enforcement for four years, and Senior Vice President in charge of the Regional Enforcement program in the 14 FINRA District Offices from 2011 to 2016. Ms. Hopper joined FINRA in 2004 and was a Director in FINRA’s Washington D.C. office until 2011. Prior to joining FINRA, from 2000 to 2004, she was part of Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc.'s Legal & Compliance team, where her responsibilities focused on retail sales compliance. She began her career as a litigation attorney in private practice. Ms. Hopper holds a J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law and earned a B.A. from Hillsdale College.

Speakers:

Terrence Bohan is Vice President of Investigations for the FINRA Enforcement department. In that capacity, he manages Enforcement’s investigators located throughout the various FINRA offices nationwide as they investigate potential securities violations and, when warranted, bring formal disciplinary actions against firms and their associated persons. Mr. Bohan also oversees the Forensic Investigations and Litigation Support group, which supports FINRA’s use of forensic tools and e-discovery technologies. He joined FINRA in 2018. Before joining FINRA, Mr. Bohan spent more than 23 years with the SEC’s New York Regional Office’s broker-dealer inspection program, primarily as a cause examination manager. In that role, Mr. Bohan identified and developed numerous significant cases involving fraudulent securities offerings, manipulations, Ponzi schemes, unregistered distributions of securities, money laundering and egregious sales practice schemes. He has worked extensively with law enforcement in the New York area, including the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, IRS, Postal Inspection Service and Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Mr. Bohan received his Bachelor of Science in finance from Fordham University.

Christopher Kelly serves as Senior Vice President and Deputy Head of Enforcement. In that role, he oversees the work of the Main Enforcement staff who work from FINRA’s headquarters in Maryland and New York, as well as the Sales Practice Enforcement staff in FINRA’s 14 District Offices throughout the country. He joined FINRA in 2014 and served as Chief Counsel in FINRA’s North Region until early 2018. Prior to joining FINRA, Mr. Kelly served as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. In that role, Mr. Kelly supervised more than 35 Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Office’s white collar units: Economic Crimes, National Security, Healthcare and Government Fraud, and Cybercrime. Prior to his promotion to the position of Deputy Chief, Mr. Kelly served as the Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where he oversaw the Office’s prosecution of complex economic crimes, including crimes involving insider trading, securities fraud, tax evasion, bank fraud, corporate fraud and embezzlement. Mr. Kelly also served as the lead prosecutor on numerous criminal prosecutions. Mr. Kelly graduated from Duke University and Harvard Law School. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he was an associate at the law firm Dechert LLP. Mr. Kelly also clerked for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey.

Lara Thyagarajan is FINRA’s Senior Vice President, Head of Market Regulation Enforcement and Litigation. Prior to serving in her current role, Ms. Thyagarajan was the Senior Vice President and Counsel to the Head of Enforcement and prior to that was the Chief Counsel for the New York Region in FINRA’s Department of Enforcement. She joined FINRA's predecessor, NASD, in 2006. Before joining FINRA, Ms. Thyagarajan was a partner in the securities enforcement defense practice of a Boston law firm where she focused on the defense of investment advisors and broker-dealers primarily in SEC investigations and hearings. Ms. Thyagarajan graduated from Boston College Law School and received her B.A. from Boston University.

Resources:

• A Few Minutes With FINRA: 529 Plan Share Class Initiative (January 2019)
• A Few Minutes With FINRA: 529 Plan Share Class Initiative - Frequently Asked Questions (February 2019)
• Blog: Working on the Front Lines of Investor Protection – Barring Bad Actors from the Industry (March 2020)
• Blog: Working on the Front Lines of Investor Protection – How an Enforcement Action Becomes an Enforcement Action (June 2020)
• Blog: Working on the Front Lines of Investor Protection – Protecting Senior Investor (April 2020)
• Credit For Cooperation: Recognizing Extraordinary Efforts (August 2019)
• FINRA Enforcement: Protecting Investors and Markets in Good Times and Bad (May 2020)
• FINRA Regulatory Notice 19-04, FINRA's 529 Plan Share Class Initiative Encourages Firms to Self-Report Potential Violations  (January 2019)
• FINRA Regulatory Notice 19-36 - FINRA Requests Comment on a Proposed Rule to Limit a Registered Person from Being Named a Customer’s Beneficiary or Holding a Position of Trust for or on Behalf of a Customer (January 2020)
• FINRA’s Enforcement Webpage
• Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the 529 Plan Share Class Initiative (March 2019)