According to FINRA, Robert Earl Cline of Verona, Pennsylvania, Bjorn Johan Erickson of Saint Petersburg, Florida, and Jerry Lawrence Little of Tierra Verde, Florida were sanctioned for violations related to orders for new issue municipal bonds.

Cline was fined $10,000 and suspended from any principal capacity for three months. Erickson was fined $10,000 and suspended from any principal capacity for three months. Little was assessed a deferred fine of $20,000 and suspended in all capacities for nine months.

Little willfully violated MSRB rules by submitting orders to underwriters for new issue municipal bonds without disclosing that the orders were for his firm's dealer account. As a result, underwriters afforded the firm improper customer priority, and the firm obtained allocations it should not have received.

Little also submitted orders during retail order periods when they were actually for the firm's dealer account rather than retail customers. This resulted in the firm improperly obtaining retail priority allocations.

Cline and Erickson, as supervisors, failed to reasonably respond to red flags indicating the firm was obtaining improper allocations. Both reviewed all branch trades daily and received communications reflecting that Little was mischaracterizing the branches to obtain customer treatment from underwriters.

Municipal bond new issue allocation rules exist to ensure fair distribution of bonds. Priority systems favor certain types of investors, such as retail customers, over dealer accounts. When dealers misrepresent the nature of their orders to obtain improper priority, they take bonds away from the investors these rules are designed to protect.

Cline and Erickson's suspensions run from May 19 through August 18, 2025. Little's suspension runs from April 21, 2025, through January 20, 2026.