NASD Penalizes Ladenburg Thalmann for Customer Overcharges

The firm has agreed to repay customers $1.2 million and to pay NASD a $275,000 fine. Customers were overcharged commissions from 2001 through 2004 in "proceeds transactions" — transactions in which a customer sells securities through a broker and uses the proceeds to pay for other securities purchased at or about the same time.

Among other things, Ladenburg Thalmann failed to limit the aggregate commission cost for both the sale and the purchase to five percent or less.

Source: NASD New Release, April 14, 2005