Embattled Worldco May Close
By STEPHEN LYNCH
October 16, 2003 -- Worldco LLC, once one of the highest fliers in the day-trading boom, appears to have shut down and may file for bankruptcy.
The embattled company, founded in 1993, recently had run afoul of the National Association of Securities Dealers, which accused it of violating day-trading rules.
At one time, Worldco provided services for more than 800 traders, with offices in New York, Santa Monica, Calif., and Boca Raton, Fla. It is unclear how many proprietary traders were left, but participants in EliteTrader, an online day-trading forum, said as many as 300 people had their money frozen in Worldco accounts.
Calls to Worldco were not returned.
In 2002, the NASD censured and fined Worldco $175,000 for violating day-trading rules.
The NASD found that Worldco failed to monitor margin requirements on accounts between 1998 and 2000.
Worldco is run by the family of Anthony Bruan, who heads an investment firm called PTJP Partners LP. Bruan's daughter, Sloan, and his nephew, Walter, have worked for Worldco.
In 2001, Anthony Bruan was accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of bribing securities firms with higher commission fees in exchange for allowing PTJP to buy thousands of shares in tech IPOs at entry-level prices. |
