According to FINRA, Highlander Capital Group, Inc. was censured and fined $5,000 for willfully violating Section 17(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act by filing and delivering to customers a Form CRS with inaccurate information. A lower fine was imposed after considering the firm's revenue and financial resources.

The firm falsely represented on its Form CRS that neither it nor its associated persons had any legal or disciplinary history. In fact, the firm and two of its registered representatives had prior legal or disciplinary history. The firm had disclosed six disciplinary actions on its Form BD before filing Form CRS, and those disclosures were reflected in FINRA's Central Registration Depository and BrokerCheck. The firm also had knowledge of its registered representatives' legal or disciplinary history.

Despite having disclosed disciplinary actions on its Form BD and despite its knowledge of registered representatives' legal or disciplinary history, the firm falsely responded "No" to the Form CRS question concerning legal or disciplinary history. Following FINRA's investigation, the firm updated its Form CRS to respond "Yes" to the question concerning legal or disciplinary history.

Form CRS was designed to provide retail investors with a simple, easy-to-understand summary of key information about a broker-dealer or investment adviser. The form requires disclosure of legal or disciplinary history so investors can make informed decisions when selecting financial professionals.

This case illustrates that even smaller firms with limited resources must ensure accurate regulatory disclosures. The false representation about disciplinary history deprived retail investors of material information they are entitled to receive. Investors should always verify the information provided in Form CRS by checking FINRA BrokerCheck and the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database to confirm a firm's complete regulatory history.