According to FINRA, Blake Adam Ridenour was fined $5,000 and suspended for three months in all capacities for causing his firm to maintain inaccurate books and records by falsifying representative codes for trades.

Ridenour entered into an agreement to service certain customer accounts under a joint representative code he shared with a retired representative, with specified commission split percentages. Although the firm's system correctly prepopulated trades with the joint representative code, Ridenour entered transactions under different representative codes through which he received higher commission percentages than what he was entitled to under the agreement.

Ridenour negligently failed to verify whether certain transactions were subject to the agreement. He mistakenly assumed other transactions were not subject to the agreement because they pertained to accounts opened after executing the agreement, but did not confirm his understanding by speaking with the retired representative or the firm.

As a result, the firm's trade confirmations inaccurately reflected Ridenour's personal representative code or another code instead of the joint code, causing him to receive higher commissions than entitled under the agreement. The firm has paid restitution to the retired representative, and Ridenour reimbursed the firm approximately $33,714 representing the additional commissions he improperly received.

Accurate books and records are fundamental to securities regulation. Representative codes on trade confirmations must accurately reflect who serviced the account and is entitled to compensation. Falsifying these codes, even negligently, creates inaccurate firm records and can result in improper commission payments.

The three-month suspension holds Ridenour accountable for negligently falsifying representative codes, while recognizing that he has made full restitution.