An arm of Nicholas Schorsch’s investment empire will cease operations in Massachusetts this week and eventually across the U.S. to settle allegations that its employees impersonated shareholders and rigged a proxy vote, according to the state’s securities regulator.

Realty Capital Securities LLC agreed to a $3 million fine as part of the settlement, according to the office of William Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Galvin’s office said Realty Capital Services also agreed to a censure but didn’t say whether the company confirmed or denied the allegations against it.

Galvin’s office, in a complaint last month, laid out allegations against the Massachusetts-based broker-dealer that was part of a web of companies founded, created or partly owned by Schorsch. Employees of Realty Capital Securities -- facing pressure to drum up support for charter changes at a specialty- finance company linked to Schorsch -- attempted to fabricate proxy votes, even using “contrived” accents to pose as shareholders, according to the complaint.

The September charter changes at Business Development Corp. of America, or BDCA, were a prerequisite for selling it as part of a proposed $19 billion deal between two Schorsch-backed companies -- American Realty Capital, or AR Capital, and RCS Capital Corp.-- and Apollo Global Management, Galvin alleged.

BDCA was created by AR Capital, a closely held company founded and part-owned by Schorsch, according to the Massachusetts complaint. As of November, Schorsch was the largest shareholder in RCS Capital, the publicly traded parent of Realty Capital Securities, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The complaint against Realty Capital Securities didn’t accuse AR Capital, RCS Capital or Apollo of wrongdoing.

Jesse Galloway, a spokesman for AR Capital, didn’t immediately respond to a request to comment or to make Schorsch available for comment. Apollo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment through Charles Zehren of Rubenstein Associates.  

Winding Down

RCS Capital confirmed that it had reached a “mutually acceptable resolution” with the Massachusetts complaint about the proxy solicitation process. “We are pleased that this matter has been resolved in an efficient and timely manner,” said Andrew Backman, an RCS Capital spokesman.

First « 1 2 » Next