The SEC charged a Houston-based broker with engaging in unauthorized and unsuitable trading on behalf of two Florida municipalities, putting them at risk of losing millions of dollars while he reaped commissions of more than $14 million for himself. The complaint alleges that Harold H. Jaschke, while associated with the brokerage firm First Allied Securities, Inc., churned the accounts of the City of Kissimmee, Fla., and the Tohopekaliga Water Authority and lied to both customers about his trading practices on their behalf. Jaschke engaged in a high-risk, short-term trading strategy involving zero-coupon U.S. Treasury bonds that were very sensitive to interest rate changes and leveraged accounts using repurchase agreements to finance the bond purchases. The SEC alleges that Jaschke knew the municipalities’ ordinances prohibited his trading strategy and required that their funds be invested with the paramount consideration to be safety of capital. Jaschke also knew that the municipalities’ ordinances prohibited the use of repurchase agreements for investment.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Jaschke violated the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws, Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and aided and abetted violations of the broker-dealer books and records provisions, Section 17(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 17a-4(b)(4) thereunder. The SEC’s complaint seeks a permanent injunction and disgorgement with prejudgment interest and a financial penalty.