Joshua Nathan Helmle, Formerly with Integrity Brokerage, Named in Customer Dispute Alleging Failure to Satisfy Supervisory Duties

INVESTORS: Former Integrity Brokerage broker Joshua Nathan Helmle was named in a customer dispute alleging failure to exercise his supervisory responsibilities.

Joshua Nathan Helmle (CRD#: 2195760) was registered as a broker with Integrity Brokerage until he was permitted to resign in December 2020. He was registered with Integrity Brokerage from 2002 until 2020.

Helmle has four disclosures on his BrokerCheck report. 

December 2021 Customer Dispute

Status: Pending

Allegations: Helmle was named Respondent in this matter as the owner of the firm and Chief Compliance Officer at the time where his former registered rep, Jan Earl Haynes, asked clients to write checks payable to Haynes Financial Group, his dba, who is no longer responding to the client inquiries regarding whereabouts of their investment dollars. These activities would have occurred between the approximate dates of 2017 and 2018. It would be fair to state, however, that Haynes also recommended securities to the same clients in which they made a profit; such investments were done by writing checks directly to the issuer and/or the clearing firm. Also noteworthy are the investment objectives that these clients entered on their new account forms: (1) Romano: capital appreciation, accredited yes, and 20 years of investment experience; (2) Shillington: capital appreciation, accredited yes, and 10 years of investment experience; (3) Wein: capital appreciation, $999,999 net worth, and 20 years investment experience. In their arbitration brief, the clients are making claims of (1) having no investment experience, (2) elderly abuse (at which time their ages were 68, 64, and 68 respectively), (3) including false references to other investments that have failed (Preferred Apartment Communities, Moody REIT II), and (4) falsely includes a claimant that was never a client at Integrity (Italo Romano). Thank you.

Damage Amount Requested: $489,862.00

December 2020 Employment Separation After Allegations

Firm Name: Integrity Brokerage LLC

Termination Type: Permitted to Resign

Allegations: Internal investigation into the performance of supervisory responsibilities, potential breach of firm procedures, unauthorized representation of firm in a disciplinary proceeding, and prior alleged conduct in an enforcement proceeding.

April 2020 Regulatory Judgment

Status: Final

Initiated By: FINRA

Allegations: Helmle was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he and his member firm permitted and enabled a statutorily disqualified person to associate with the firm and engage in its securities business despite his disqualified status. THe complaint alleges that the firm, acting through Helmle, failed to register the disqualified person with FINRA in any capacity, including in the capacity of a General Securities Representative. The firm and Helmle each permitted and enabled the disqualified person to engage in firm securities business without being appropriately registered.

Resolution: Decision

Bar: Bar (Permanent)

Registration Capacities Affected: All Capacities

Duration: Indefinite

Start Date: 9/9/2021

Sanctions: Monetary Penalty other than Fines

Amount: $10,753.33

Regulator Statement: Extended Hearing Panel decision rendered July 23, 2021, wherein Helmle was barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities and ordered to pay costs in the amount of $10,753.33. Helmle and the firm each bear responsibility for half the total amount of costs. The sanctions are based on findings that the firm and Helmle improperly allowed a person to associate with the firm when he was subject to a statutory disqualification and allowed him to engage in the firm’s securities business in a manner that required him to be registered when he was not. The findings stated that the NAC issued a formal FINRA decision denying the firm’s MC-400 application seeking permission for the person to associate with the firm despite his disqualification. Helmle ignored an initial warning from FINRA that the person was prohibited from associating with the firm and implemented a plan to evade the prohibition. More than six months after the MC-400 application was denied, Helmle and a firm registered representative together wrote a letter to customers to inform them that for now, the person would not be their official registered representative. Instead, the representative would be their acting registered representative. At the same time, the letter reassured customers that the person was still generating investment ideas for them and the representative was still providing “excellent and timely customer service.” The letter promised that customers could request time with the person to discuss the stock market, economic issues, and company-specific information. Helmle and representative described the changes after the MC-400 decision as semantics. The letter obscured the true nature of the situation, being that FINRA had denied the approval necessary for the person to speak to the firm’s customers about securities and their portfolios. Customers continued to see the person as their broker, not the representative. The decision is final on September 9, 2021.

August 2010 Customer Dispute

Status: Settled

Allegations: The client named Helmle as a defendant, although he was not a broker on the account and was not the OSJ manager. Allegations should have been claiming failure to supervise by the firm. They name Helmle for monetary reasons and Helmle decided to settle rather than fight the civil litigation that was filed in Maine when Helmle lives in California. They had no right to file against Helmle and it would have been dismissed and rejected by the court and compelled to arbitrate against the broker (Ligor) and firm but not against Helmle. However, it would have cost more to fight than settle.

Damage Amount Requested: $80,000.00

Settlement Amount: $22,500.00

If you have any information about Joshua Nathan Helmle that you would like to share or discuss, please call our firm for a confidential consultation. We represent investors in claims against negligent brokers and brokerage firms. If you or your loved one experienced investment losses, we are here to help. For a free consultation, please call us now at 866-827-3202 or complete our contact form.