Securities Regulator Alleges Violations, Suspends 2 Brokers

Two Orange County brokers have been suspended by a federal securities regulator for allegedly violating broker-dealer rules.

The enforcement arm of the National Assn. of Securities Dealers, which regulates the brokerage profession, suspended Glenn A. Dove of Sunset Beach for 15 days and fined Nicholas Mark Ellis of Irvine $20,000.

Neither Dove nor Ellis admitted any wrongdoing in settling the disciplinary actions, which were released Monday by NASD Regulation Inc.

Dove, 26, while working at Smith Barney Inc. in October, 1995, engaged in eight unauthorized trades totaling $22,042, according to NASD accusations. Because the deals were quickly rescinded, customers didn’t suffer any losses. Besides suspending him, NASD required that he take an examination to requalify as a broker.

Dove left Smith Barney a month later and eventually joined Pacific Coast Financial Services Inc. That scandal-marred company closed in February amid assertions that it swindled elderly investors of more than $25 million with promises of profits from oil wells that never existed or weren’t operating.

Ellis, 37, who was a principal in Robert Scott Securities Inc., was accused of engaging in general securities business without having a properly registered principal. He also was accused of handling 1,088 options transactions and 65 municipal deals without having principals on board who were registered brokers in options and municipal securities.

Besides fining him, NASD suspended him from working as a principal in a brokerage for two years. In 1995, Ellis was fined $2,500, allegedly for allowing an employee to make trades before the employee was registered with NASD.