All information in this report was compiled from public records maintained by the SEC.
Continued Unregistered Broker Activity After FINRA Ban
Allen Mecham, 59, of North Logan, Utah, on Sept. 14, entered into an SEC offer of settlement for allegedly acting as an unregistered broker after a 2010 Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ban.
From Oct. 1, 2017, to about 2018, Mecham sold Standard Oil Company stocks, warrants, and promissory notes. Standard Oil was a West Virginia oil and gas company formed in 1998 and never registered with the SEC. Mecham was also not registered with the SEC, yet earned about $100,000 in commissions. Additionally, in 2010, Mecham was barred from any type of association with any FINRA member.
Mecham is barred from association with any broker, investment adviser, municipal advisor, transfer agent, dealer, municipal securities dealer, or statistical rating organization and from offering penny stocks.
Misappropriating Investor Funds for Personal Use in a Ponzi-Like Way
Rand Heckler, 67, of Glen Cove, New York, on Sept. 13, entered into an SEC offer of settlement after he allegedly misappropriated funds and defrauded investors after a 2019 FINRA ban.
Heckler worked as a registered representative for broker-dealers in New York and Florida from 1995 until April 2019. On June 14, 2019, he was barred from associating with any FINRA member firm for failing to respond to a document and information request.
Additionally, in 2009, Heckler incorporated Heckler, Inc. and served as its CEO. He claimed to operate a hedge fund through the company and used bank accounts in its name to receive and misappropriate investor funds for his personal use.
On April 21, 2023, Heckler pled guilty to grand larceny in the second degree and scheme to defraud in the first degree and awaits sentencing.
According to the SEC complaint, between Oct. 2015 and Jan. 2020, Heckler made misstatements and omissions while getting at least $755,000 in funds from an investor to buy securities in a sham hedge fund he managed. He misappropriated most of this money for personal expenses.
Heckler also defrauded another investor in a Ponzi-like manner by soliciting $100,000 for a “dividend investment.” However, the monies were used to pay an earlier investor in the sham hedge fund for a redemption request.
Heckler is barred from association with any broker, investment adviser, municipal advisor, transfer agent, dealer, municipal securities dealer, or statistical rating organization and from offering penny stocks.
Unregistered Broker Selling Unregistered Securities for Profit
Daniel E. Levin, 66, of Dallas, Texas, on Sept. 11, entered into an SEC offer of settlement for allegedly acting as an unregistered broker and dealer offering unregistered securities.
Levin was associated with SEC-registered brokers and dealers from 1984 until Aug. 2014 and held multiple securities licenses. He was also the subject of a previous SEC action for failing to disclose material information about breakpoint discounts when selling mutual fund class “A” shares to retail customers.
Since 2014, Levin has not been associated with any broker or dealer. He was the founder and sole managing member of Comprehensive Retirement Planning (CRP), a Dallas-based business. Levin also formed CRP Automotive Portfolio (CRP Fund) through CRP, which is not registered with the SEC. From about April 2017 through Dec. 18, he advised investors, sold unregistered CRP Fund securities, and received compensation.
Levin is barred from association with any broker, investment adviser, municipal advisor, transfer agent, dealer, municipal securities dealer, or statistical rating organization and from offering penny stocks.
