Finra bars owner of New Jersey broker-dealer

Finra reached a settlement last Friday to bar the owner of a small broker-dealer in New Jersey for failing to respond to requests for information five months after it had filed a Wells Notice against him. In October, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. hit James Carrazza, the owner and president of Olympus Securities, with the Wells Notice, according to his profile on BrokerCheck. A Wells Notice is an indication of Finra's preliminary determination to recommend a disciplinary action against an individual. Mr. Carrazza was in violation of industry rules for his failure to report federal tax liens on his employment record and for failing to respond to Finra's request for information, according to BrokerCheck. Last August and September, Finra sent three requests for documents to Mr. Carrazza, according to the Finra settlement, the findings of which Mr. Carrazza neither admits to nor denies. In October, he "acknowledged that he received Finra's requests and stated that he would not provide Finra with the requested documents," according to the settlement. His firm, Olympus Securities, opened its doors in 2002 and was based in Montville, N.J. It closed at the start of this month, according to BrokerCheck. ​ Mr. Carrazza, who began his career in the securities industry in 1984, on Monday morning said he had no comment about being barred from the securities industry or the closing of Olympus Securities.