SECURITIES

Major Penny-Stock Firm, Executive Settle Charges: Richard P. Brown, president of the now-defunct brokerage Hibbard Brown & Co. of New York, has been barred from the securities industry and must pay $400,000 to settle charges of manipulating stock prices of securities issued by Of Counsel Enterprises Inc., a service firm for lawyers, during a 1993 initial public offering for its stock, regulators said. The Securities and Exchange Commission also revoked the firm’s registration and ordered it to repay $3 million in illegal profit earned when holdings in Of Counsel were sold. The case is the latest regulatory action against the former penny stock dealer. Brown and the firm agreed to the order without admitting or denying wrongdoing. Their attorneys could not be reached for comment.