Rep barred for not disclosing $100 million in private transactions: Finra

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Securities America as the firm that employed Jim Seol. He was employed by Ameriprise Financial Services. A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority hearing panel has barred a former rep for participating in private securities transactions, engaging in undisclosed outside business activities, and for making misrepresentations to his employer in compliance questionnaires. The hearing panel found that Jim Seol sold $100 million in EB-5 investments in September 2011. These were promoted through his private business, Western Regional Center Incorporated (WRCI), yet Finra said that Mr. Seol failed to disclose this activity to the firm that supervised him, Amerprise Financial Services. The EB-5 program permits foreign investors to obtain a U.S. visa in exchange for investing in projects that create U.S. jobs. The decision resolves charges brought by Finra's enforcement department in May 2016. As noted in the decision, which was the subject of a Finra press release, the offering was fully subscribed by the end of 2013, with all partnership units sold to 200 different investors contributing $500,000 each, totaling $100 million. WRCI earned a management fee from the offering that generated $736,000 per year. The hearing panel found that from 2012 to 2014, Mr. Seol intentionally concealed his WRCI activities from his employing firm in multiple instances by "repeatedly lying to his supervisor and the compliance examiner that he had no outside business activities, no outside employment, no outside board memberships, and no ownership interest in any legal entities." Mr. Seol spent 16 years in the securities industry and was registered with Ameriprise Financial Services and its predecessor organization from 1997 to 2014. He is currently not registered with any firm.