Proman in 1998 settled NASD allegations that he had hired a stand-in to sit for his Series 7 exam. He settled the matter by agreeing to a bar, a censure, and a $50,000 fine. In 2007 he filed a request with FINRA seeking to vacate the bar. When FINRA denied him relief, he appealed to the Commission. The Commission dismissed the appeal finding that it has no jurisdiction. Commission appellate jurisdiction over FINRA matters is governed by Exchange Act Section 19(d). Relying on a 1998 decision, it ruled that requests such as Proman's are "collateral" to the original disciplinary action and is thus not an appealable disciplinary action
Comment
To say that this is a routine matter, as it relies on clearly established precedent, is an understatement. According to the opinion, Proman filed his appeal on August 20, 2007. One has to wonder why it took the Commission eight months and ten days to produce this five page opinion.
