Jefferson City, Mo. — Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft announced two Consent Orders issued by the Securities Division involving nearly $500,000 in restitution to victims and a $50,000 payment to the Secretary of State’s Investor Education and Protection Fund. Both the Securities Commissioner and the Respondents agreed to the findings and final resolutions.
“Our Enforcement staff has done outstanding work bringing these two cases to resolution for the maximum benefit of Missouri investors,” Ashcroft said. “They work every day to find justice for victims who have been taken advantage of in a variety of situations. Our focus continues to be protecting Missouri investors, especially those who are elderly or vulnerable to abuse or manipulation.”
In one Order, Shannon Daniels consented to findings that she violated Missouri Securities laws while registered as a broker with U.S. Bancorp Investments Inc. Daniels consented that she engaged in dishonest or unethical practices when she withdrew more than $457,000 from a client’s account without the client’s knowledge and misappropriated the funds for personal use, including remodeling her kitchen and purchasing a new automobile.
The Consent Order bars Daniels from registering as an investment adviser representative and broker-dealer agent in the State of Missouri. She was terminated by U.S. Bancorp in June 2016. Daniels has also been indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Missouri for several counts of embezzlement.
In the Commissioner’s Order, Daniels is to pay $457,040.53 in restitution. She also consented to the payment of $50,000 to the Investor Education and Protection Fund.
In a second Consent Order, Mad Baby Pictures LLC and Patrick Pinkston of St. Louis, consented to findings that they violated Missouri Securities law in connection with their use of advertising to offer an unregistered, non-exempt security for sale in Missouri. The investment was designed to raise funds to shoot a film called, “The Thin Veil.”
In August 2013, Pinkston, who was not registered to sell securities in Missouri, met with a 63-year old actress and novice filmmaker from Barcelona, Spain in St. Louis. The novice filmmaker agreed to invest in the film and told Pinkston to use the funds on pre-production. The movie was to be produced through Pinkston’s company, Mad Baby Pictures LLC. The investor, however, never received her initial investment nor any returns on her investment.
Mad Baby Pictures LLC and Pinkston have agreed to pay $15,000 in restitution into the Missouri Secretary of State’s Restitution Fund. They are permanently restrained from offering and selling securities, employing unregistered agents and transacting business in Missouri without being registered or exempt from registration as an agent. They further consented to repayment of investigation costs.
The Securities Division of the Secretary of State’s Office may be contacted by calling the Investor Protection Hotline at 800-721-7996 or the Vulnerable Citizens Services Unit Hotline at 855-653-7300.
