FINRA Sanctions Five Firms $4.4 Million for Using Municipal and State Bond Funds to Pay Lobbyists

FINRA announced that it has sanctioned five firms a total of more than $4.48 million for "unfairly obtaining the reimbursement of fees they paid to the California Public Securities Association (Cal PSA)" from the proceeds of municipal and state bond offerings by billing the costs of such membership as an expense of the offering. The firms were fined more than $3.35 million and are required to pay a total of $1.13 million in restitution to certain issuers in California.

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