FINRA FRAUD...WHERE THE HELL IS CONGRESS?

Antitrust Argument Against FINRA:? FINRA has engaged in anti-competitive and deceptive practices by acting as a de facto exchange while publicly claiming not to be one. Despite these assertions, FINRA has operated multiple OTC Market Centers (venues), including OOTC, OTCBB, XADF, and OTC-UTP, for over 650 days without proper disclosure. These Market Identifier Codes (MICs) facilitated trades in MMAT and MMTLP, which share the same CIK number (0001431959), contributing to market distortions and the eventual bankruptcy of Meta Materials.

Key Points:

1. Dual Role as Market Operator and Regulator: FINRA both regulates and operates key trading venues, such as OOTC and XADF, acting as an interdealer broker while managing OTC trading venues. This dual role raises significant antitrust concerns, as it limits fair access to the market, excludes competition, and grants FINRA undue influence over both the market's regulatory framework and its operational activities. Evidence shows FINRA facilitated off-exchange (dark pool) trading of MMAT through OTC-UTP, allowing manipulation of share counts and trading volumes.

2.???? Market Misclassification and Deceptive Actions: FINRA’s March 23, 2023, FAQ admitted a "systems coding error" that misclassified MMTLP as a non-SEC-reporting company, leading to its wrongful inclusion on the Threshold Securities List. This error, combined with FINRA’s decision to allow MMTLP (a preferred Series A dividend not meant for trading) to trade under ticker MMTLP without authorization from Meta Materials or Torchlight, caused significant investor losses.

1. Unregulated Market Centers Facilitating Market Manipulation: FINRA's MICs, particularly OOTC and OTC-UTP, were central in listing and trading MMTLP and MMAT, blurring the lines between regulated and unregulated markets. A Bloomberg Terminal report from December 8, 2022, revealed that FINRA’s erroneous reporting and coding issues, such as classifying MMTLP as a bond, misled investors. The misclassification concealed the true share count, enabling continued market manipulation through dark pools.
2. FINRA’s Failure to Prevent Market Distortions: The merger between MMATF and TRCH (Torchlight Energy) in June 2021, which resulted in the issuance of Series A Preferred Dividends, was not intended to generate a tradeable security. However, MMTLP began trading in October 2021 without proper authorization or oversight. FINRA failed to act on known fraud and manipulation signals flagged as early as November 2021, leading to a U3 halt on December 8, 2022. FINRA’s mishandling of the MMTLP corporate action, such as issuing incorrect deletion dates and failing to promptly address settlement issues, trapped investors in a market already primed for manipulation.
3. Conflict of Interest in Alternative Display Facility (ADF) and Market Centers: FINRA’s ADF, designed to display quotes, was actively used to quote MMAT, despite FINRA’s claim that there were no active quoting participants. This omission and FINRA's control over OTC venues (such as XADF) allowed it to serve a dual role as both a quoting entity and a regulatory body. Evidence of 582,009,488 shares being funneled through FINRA-controlled OTC-UTP venues over the past six months reveals FINRA’s deep involvement in maintaining these trade platforms, which parallels the function of an exchange and contributes to unfair market competition.
4. Antitrust Implications: FINRA’s actions represent a violation of antitrust laws by operating as a monopolistic entity controlling key market infrastructure while excluding competitors and providing misleading information to market participants. The ownership of Market Identifier Codes (MICs) such as OOTC, and the unacknowledged operation of dark pool trading venues for MMAT and MMTLP, demonstrate that FINRA has leveraged its regulatory power to control trading in ways that disadvantage both investors and market competitors. Furthermore, FINRA’s misclassification of securities and the manipulation of market reports, as evidenced by its coding errors, have distorted fair market practices and facilitated financial harm to market participants.

Conclusion: FINRA’s deceptive practices, failure to disclose its market center ownership, and active role in dark pool trading undercut its claim of being a non-exchange regulatory body. By owning and operating multiple trading venues while serving as a regulator, FINRA has violated antitrust laws and contributed to significant market manipulation, especially in the trading of MMAT and MMTLP. The harm caused to investors and market participants through these actions warrants legal redress under both antitrust and securities laws.