PORTLAND, Maine — A former investment adviser fined in Maine for violating state securities laws and barred from operating in the state has agreed not to provide investment advice anywhere in the country to satisfy federal regulators.
The Maine Office of Securities on Tuesday announced the settlement with Denmark, Maine, resident Paul Ligor Jr., following its own investigation and ruling in March 2014.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a settlement with Ligor in December, affirming the findings of state securities administrators that Ligor operated as an investment adviser without the proper license.
The charge from Maine regulators found that from 2009 to 2011 Ligor worked with Ajax Investment Advisors, based in Sebago, and other broker-dealers on behalf of at least eight clients. In 2009, state officials said Ligor agreed to stop providing investment advice until securing the proper license, which he did not do.
The SEC order bars Ligor from associating with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal adviser, transfer agent or any nationally recognized statistical rating organization.
Ligor may be able to apply for a license to operate as an investment adviser, subject to certain conditions, the SEC order stated.
Ligor was ordered to pay a $1,000 civil penalty in Maine.