ROBINHOOD PAYS $70 MILLION TO SETTLE RANGE OF ALLEGATIONS

Robinhood Financial will pay nearly $70 million to settle a wide range of allegations, including that it gave customers misleading information and improperly allowed some users to make riskier trades after they lied about their trading experience.

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The financial penalty is the largest ever ordered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a non-governmental organization that oversees the brokerage industry, and one that “reflects the scope and seriousness of Robinhood’s violations,” said Jessica Hopper, head of FINRA’s department of enforcement.

Since its 2014 launch, Robinhood has shaken up the brokerage industry with zero-commission trading and an easy-to-use app that’s drawn a new generation of investors into the market.

It already has more than 31 million customers, many of whom were earlier getting left behind as the stock market rose without them. But it’s also faced criticism and penalties from a range of regulators over allegations that it encouraged novices to make trades too risky for them and hurt them in other ways.

Robinhood neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the settlement announced Wednesday. In a blog post, Robinhood detailed how it has improved support for its customers, including the ability to call in and talk with a service representative for some issues.