Ex-Pruco Rep Fred Rock Suspended, Fined

According to records maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), former Tampa, Florida broker and investment adviser Fred Rock (CRD# 2548242) was recently sanctioned in connection to allegedly improper private placement transactions. Rock was most recently registered with Pruco Securities.

Fred Rock’s BrokerCheck report currently lists one settled investor complaint against him. It also describes an April 2021 Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (No. 2019063574801) suspending him from acting as a broker. According to the AWC Letter, Rock was registered with Pruco Securities in Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida when the firm disclosed in August 2019 that he was being investigated internally in connection to allegations he participated “in the sale of private securities without disclosing to or obtaining approval from the Firm.” As FINRA notes, brokers associated with FINRA are prohibited by Rule 3280 from engaging in private securities transactions if they do not provide their firms with prior written notice detailing the proposed transaction, their role in it, and whether they will receive or have already received selling compensation. FINRA defines private securities transactions, with exceptions, as securities transactions “outside the regular course or scope of an associated person’s employment with a member.”

FINRA also notes that during the relevant period, Pruco Securities required prior disclosure of private securities transactions. In spite of this, according to the AWC Letter, Rock “solicited private placement investments in a startup company developing waste-to-energy technology” between March 2019 and June 2019. The alleged transactions involved a total of $409,200 invested by 17 investors. FINRA states that four of the investors in these alleged private placements were Pruco Securities clients, and that Rock helped investors complete purchase forms and collected their checks for the startup company. It states further that he received no compensation for the sales and did not provide Pruco Securities with prior written notice regarding the transactions. As a result of the alleged conduct, he was issued a $5,000 fine and a five-month suspension from associating with any FINRA member firm in any capacity.

In addition to the above sanction, Fred Rock’s FINRA records also describe a complaint filed in 2008 alleging that as a representative of Fifth Third Securities, he misappropriated funds and executed unauthorized trades. The complaint reached a settlement of $115,000.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Fred Rock holds 22 years of securities industry experience and is currently suspended from acting as a broker. His prior registrations include Pruco Securities in Tampa, Florida; Fifth Third Securities in Tampa, Florida; UVest Financial Services Group in Charlotte, North Carolina; MML Investors Services in Springfield, Massachusetts; GR Phelps & Company; and Cantella & Company in Malden, Massachusetts. He has passed four securities industry qualifying examinations: Uniform Combined State Law Examination, or Series 66; Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; and General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7. He currently holds zero state securities licenses. (Information current as of August 19, 2021.)