Dinosaur Financial Group, LLC has agreed to pay a fine of $85,000 as a part of a settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

From April 2022 to November 2023, Dinosaur Financial guaranteed its parent company’s 10-year commercial real estate lease totaling $4.3 million. The firm failed to provide written notice to FINRA before entering into this guarantee.

The firm also failed to include this guarantee in the firm’s net capital computations, causing it to operate a securities business while below its minimum net capital requirement for 19 of those 20 months.

During the same period, the firm maintained inaccurate books and records, including inaccurate net capital computations, filed 20 inaccurate Financial and Operational Combined Uniform Single (FOCUS) reports, and failed to timely notify FINRA and the SEC of the firm’s net capital deficiencies.

As a result, the firm violated Securities Exchange Act of 1934 §§ 15(c)(3) and 17(a), Exchange Act Rules 15c3-1, 17a-3, 17a-5, and 17a-11, and FINRA Rules 4110(b)(1), 4150(a), 4511, and 2010.

The firm has agreed to a censure in addition to the fine of $85,000.

Dinosaur Financial has been a FINRA member since March 2001. It is headquartered in New York, New York, maintains 17 active branches, and has 44 registered representatives. The firm provides full-service retail and institutional brokerage services and primarily derives revenue from serving as an agent to and referring brokerage transactions to its international affiliate.