Finra sues broker who failed to report sexual conduct charge

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. sued a former registered representative Wednesday for failing in May 2016 to report to his broker-dealer a felony criminal sexual conduct charge by South Carolina. The broker, James Paquette, worked for 10 firms over 26 years, according to his BrokerCheck report. Last month, a jury in Charleston County, S.C., found Mr. Paquette, 55, guilty of the charge and he was sentenced to the maximum 10-year sentence, according to a statement from the State of South Carolina. He also is required to register as a sex offender. Registered reps who face felony charges must report those on their employment records, or Form U-4 disclosures, according to industry rules. When he was charged with the crime, Mr. Paquette did not notify his firm, according to the Finra complaint. Most recently, he worked with small broker-dealer Vestech Securities Inc., from October to mid-January. Mr. Paquette was fired by Vestech because he "misled the firm on facts and circumstances relating to the court case throughout the hiring process and during his brief tenure," according to the firm's BrokerCheck report. An employee with Vestech said she did not know how to contact Mr. Paquette for a comment. Calls to Mr. Paquette's residence in South Carolina on Wednesday did not ring through.