NEWARK
– An investment firm under investigation
by the New Jersey Bureau of Securities
(BOS), of the Attorney General's Office,
has been penalized $20,000 after its staff
did not allow BOS personnel access to
records as legally required, Attorney
General Peter C. Harvey and Consumer Affairs
Director Reni Erdos said.
The
BOS assessed a $20,000 civil penalty against
Chicago Investment Group, L.L.C. after
bureau investigators yesterday were denied
access to records at the company's branch
office at 14 Wall Street in New York City.
Chicago Investment Group is a Chicago-based
company that is registered with the BOS.
"We
cannot tolerate an investment firm hindering
or stonewalling our investigators who
are acting to protect investors,"
Attorney General Harvey said. "We
expect and will accept nothing less than
full compliance with the law and that
means providing prompt access to records
and documents. Reviewing those records
and documents is critical to our efforts
to protect and safeguard the hard-earned
dollars of investors."
Consumer
Affairs Director Erdos noted that the
BOS would have taken action to suspend
or revoke Chicago Investment's Group registration
if the firm did not agree to allow access
to BOS investigators today.
"Our
investigators will be back at the branch
office today and we expect full access
and cooperation," Erdos said. "If
that does not occur, more sanctions against
Chicago Investment Group will be forthcoming."
Details
about the BOS' ongoing investigation remain
confidential at this time.
"Our
examination authority is critical to our
ability to effectively regulate the securities
industry," said Franklin L. Widmann,
Chief of the BOS. "We will not tolerate
any behavior that restricts our ability
to examine firms and safeguard the public."
