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NFA Appeals Committee increases sanctions against Barkley Financial Corporation to expulsion from NFA and $1,000,000 fine

July 11, Chicago - National Futures Association (NFA) announced that its Appeals Committee has increased the sanctions imposed upon Barkley Financial Corporation (Barkley), a former Introducing Broker located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Committee found that the sanctions imposed upon Barkley by an NFA Hearing Panel in a Decision issued in January 2007 were inadequate considering Barkley's widespread sales practice fraud and its failure to take any meaningful supervisory efforts to curtail fraud in its sales practices. Under the terms of the new sanctions, Barkley must pay a fine of $1,000,000 and is permanently barred from NFA membership.

The Committee had reviewed the Panel's Decision which was based on a three count Complaint issued in September 2005 against Barkley and fourteen of its former associated persons (APs) including David J. Aguirre, David J. Rodin, Charles Warren and Ernie N. Blazeff.

The Committee also increased the sanctions imposed upon Aguirre, who must pay a $25,000 fine and is suspended from being associated with or acting as a principal of a Member for a period of six months. In addition, the Committee reversed the Decision issued against Rodin and found that Rodin made misleading and deceptive sales solicitations. The Committee disagreed with the Panel's decision to dismiss the charges against Rodin. The Committee ruled that because Rodin projected 40-60% profits to prospective investors, he was obligated to disclose that the vast majority of Barkley's customers had lost money in its preceding years. The Committee ruled that Rodin's failure to disclose the losing performance of Barkley's customers - while touting profit potential - caused his statements to be misleading. Rodin must pay a $10,000 fine and is required to tape record all conversations between existing and potential customers for a period of six months.

Finally, the Committee upheld the Panel's Decision in regards to Warren and Blazeff that they did not engage in deceptive and misleading sales solicitations.

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