Archived News

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has fined broker-dealer TradeZero America, Inc. $750,000 over a data breach caused by a poorly-vetted online chatbot that the company used for its website.

According to a consent order filed by Galvin’s Securities Division this week, the online chat service Tawk.to was used on TradeZero’s website through late 2024. In July 2024, an unknown hacker was able to gain access to TradeZero customer personally identifiable information through Tawk.to. Documents uploaded via the chatbot were also compromised.

The consent order states that an investigation by the Securities Division revealed that TradeZero failed to follow state and federal laws, and its own internal procedures, requiring the vetting of third-party vendors before and after using their services. As a result of the poor vetting, TradeZero failed to ensure adequate security controls implanted by Tawk.to, and the personal information of thousands of customers was compromised.

Though TradeZero’s parent company made a payment in Bitcoin to the hacker to in exchange for a promise to return the data, the company has not received proof from the hacker that the data was deleted. To date, TradeZero has been unable to obtain full or complete information from the vendor regarding the breach.

In the course of the investigation, the Securities Division also discovered TradeZero used an automated program to review customer applications. The use of the automated program resulted in TradeZero’s approval of certain applications not suitable for margin accounts or options trading, the consent order states.

In addition to the $750,000 administrative fine, the consent order requires TradeZero to reimburse the trading losses of Massachusetts investors who were improperly approved for margin accounts or options trading, retain an independent compliance consultant, and to implement improvements to cybersecurity and account approval policies.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is encouraging Massachusetts voters who have not already voted by mail in the upcoming State Primaries to take advantage of early voting this weekend. Early voting for the September 1, 2026 State Primaries kicks off Saturday, August 22 and runs through Friday, August 28.

All cities and towns in Massachusetts are required to offer early voting this weekend. Most communities are planning to be open for voting on Saturday, which is also the last day for voters to register to vote or change their party for the primaries. Larger communities will also be open for early voting on Sunday.

Galvin recommends voters check their city or town’s early voting schedule now, to make a plan to vote, and warns that many local election offices have limited hours on Fridays.

Voters who applied to vote by mail and have not yet returned their ballot may still vote in person, either during early voting or on Election Day. Those who have already returned a mail-in ballot will be marked off on the voting list and will not be able to vote again.

Anyone not yet registered must do so by Saturday in order to be eligible to vote in the State Primaries. Those who need to register in-person may do so at their local election office or an early voting location until 5 p.m. on Saturday. Online voter registration will be available until 11:59 p.m.

Voters may visit www.VoteInMA.com to find their community’s early voting locations and schedule, locate their local election office, or register to vote.

With the number of certified ballot question now finalized, the Elections Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office has released the list of questions that will appear on the November 3, 2026 State Election ballot. According to the Elections Division, nine statewide questions will appear on ballots in the following order:

• Question 1: Expanding the Public Records Law
• Question 2: Collective Bargaining for CPCS Employees
• Question 3: State Primary Elections
• Question 4: Election Day Registration
• Question 5: State Revenue Limit & Rebate
• Question 6: Natural Resource Conservation Fund
• Question 7: Single Family Homes
• Question 8: Prohibit Retail Sale of Adult Recreational Use Marijuana
• Question 9: Firearms Regulation

Ballot question numbers this year were assigned at the direction of First Deputy Secretary Michelle Tassinari, the Director of the Elections Division. The questions were ordered in a manner intended to maximize space on the ballot, with the length of the question summaries being the primary consideration.

With so many questions, ballots in most communities are expected to be two to three pages long. The length of each community’s ballot will depend on the number of offices and candidates running in that community, whether the ballot must be printed in more than one language, and any local questions that may be added to the ballot by the city or town.

The Elections Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office has completed its certification of 2026 state ballot question petitions, clearing a path for up to nine questions to appear on the 2026 State Election ballot in November.

Each petition filed with the Elections Division by the July 1, 2026 filing deadline was determined to have filed more than the 12,429 certified signatures required. Petitioners were required to file at least 74,574 certified signatures during a previous round of signature gathering, which took place last fall.

According to the Elections Division, the certified signature counts for each petition are:

• State Primary Elections – 14,377
• Expanding the Public Records Law – 16,678
• Natural Resource Conservation Fund – 15,419
• Collective Bargaining for CPCS Employees – 15,820
• Election Day Registration – 16,410
• Single Family Homes – 16,930
• State Revenue Limit and Rebate – 15,604
• Prohibit Retail Sale of Adult Recreational Use Marijuana – 12,511

In addition to the eight petitions above, a referendum question on the 2024 law relating to firearms regulation has already been certified to appear on the November ballot.

The final number of questions that will appear on the November ballot will be determined when the State Ballot Law Commission issues a decision in a pending objection against the petition relating to marijuana. A hearing in that matter concluded yesterday, and a decision is expected by Wednesday, July 22.

Voters interested in voting by mail in the 2026 State Primary and State Election should keep an eye on their mailboxes in the coming days, according to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division. Every Massachusetts voter who has not already applied to vote by mail this year will soon be receiving an official 2026 Vote by Mail application.

As required by state law, each registered voter in Massachusetts will receive a pre-addressed, postage pre-paid application, which may be used to apply for mail-in ballots for the upcoming fall elections. In order to be valid, an application for a September 1, 2026 State Primary ballot must reach the appropriate local election office by 5 p.m. on August 25.

Those who prefer to vote in person will have the option of voting early. The early voting period for the State Primaries will be August 22-28, while early voting for the November 3 State Election will be held October 17-30.

Voters who are not enrolled in a political party are reminded that they must select a party on their application, if they wish to receive a State Primary ballot. Unenrolled voters, commonly called Independents, are permitted to vote in party primaries, but they must choose either a Democratic or a Republican ballot. Voting in a primary in Massachusetts does not change a voter’s party affiliation.

Additional information about voting and the upcoming elections may be found at www.VoteInMA.com.

As the nation celebrates 250 years of independence this Fourth of July, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is marking another important milestone this week – the 200th anniversary of the deaths of two of its most famous signers.

In a quirk of history, Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who were instrumental in the drafting of the Declaration, both died exactly 50 years after signing it. In a nod to these founders, Galvin is revamping the Commonwealth Museum’s Independence Day celebrations and offering free tours of Adam’s burial site at Quincy’s famous “Church of the Presidents.”

As a capstone to nearly two years of celebrations leading up America’s 250th, the Commonwealth Museum this week will be unveiling an updated exhibit: “A Most Daring Spirit – John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and the Declaration of Independence.” The exhibit opens on Wednesday, July 1 and examines the evolving relationship of Adams and Jefferson, the role each played in the Declaration’s creation, and the critical impact that Massachusetts had on the listed reasons for separation from Great Britain.

A special Independence Day viewing of the exhibit will be held on Saturday, July 4, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Museum visitors will also be treated to the opportunity to view the state’s original copy of the Declaration of Independence, signed by Massachusetts’ own John Hancock.

For those wishing to pay respect to John Adams on this milestone anniversary, the Massachusetts Historical Commission, which is chaired by Galvin, is funding free tours of the Adams Family Crypt at Quincy’s United First Parish Church. Entombed in the church known as the “Church of the Presidents” are President John Adams, First Lady Abigail Adams, President John Quincy Adams, and First Lady Louisa Catherine Adams.

Tours at the Church of the Presidents will be available all summer, with special Fourth of July tours offered from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. this Saturday. The church is located at 1306 Hancock Street in Quincy.

The Commonwealth Museum is a division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office, operating out of the Massachusetts State Archives at 200 Morrissey Blvd, on Dorchester’s Columbia Point, in Boston. Admission and parking at the museum are free. Additional information may be found at www.CommonwealthMuseum.org.

With a U.S. Senate committee planning to consider the crypto regulation bill known as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act today, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is calling on the committee to reject the bill as it is currently written.

Galvin, the chief securities regular for Massachusetts, is urging the committee to amend the bill to enable his office to continue to protect investors from bad actors and intermediaries dealing in tokenized securities. He has worked with Senator Elizabeth Warren, the ranking member on the Senate's Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, to offer what he calls two "commonsense amendments."

Galvin’s proposed amendments seek to retain a state’s ability to enforce its own laws to protect investors and continue to regulate the riskiest corners of traditional securities markets.

"The Clarity Act, as it is currently written, provides a backdoor to special interests far beyond crypto, deregulating penny stocks and other high-risk securities," Galvin said today.

In a letter sent Tuesday to the committee, Galvin warned that the Clarity Act "will erode traditional state securities authority to the detriment of investors."

"I have consistently called for legislation that protects investors and savers by preserving (1) state authority to pursue fraud, manipulation, and deceptive practices and (2) traditional securities principles. The Clarity Act fails to address these fundamental concerns," Galvin wrote.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has issued $1.25 million fine against Fidelity Brokerage Services, after the Massachusetts broker-dealer’s failure to enforce appropriate cybersecurity controls allowed a data breach affecting approximately 77,000 customers. After learning of the breach, Fidelity also failed to notify many impacted residents, including the relatives and minor children of Fidelity customers.

According to a consent order filed with Galvin’s Securities Division today, Fidelity’s insufficient enforcement of its own cybersecurity protocols allowed a bad actor, over a three-day period in August 2024, to access images of documents containing social security numbers, active credit card and financial account numbers, medical information, passports, driver’s licenses, and other personally identifiable information. 

The documents accessed in the data breach contained not only the information of existing Fidelity customers, but also that of beneficiaries and relatives, some of whom were minors. While Fidelity took steps after the data breach to notify affected customers, the company failed to notify the beneficiaries and others that their personal information had been compromised.

As explained in the consent order, the breach occurred when a bad actor exploited a vulnerability in Fidelity’s online access controls that allowed any Fidelity customer to access the documents of another customer. By manipulating the ten digit “Image ID” displayed in the browser when accessing the customer’s own documents, the customer could access other users’ documents as well.

“At the time of the data breach, Fidelity did not reasonably enforce its technical security policies designed to restrict users… to accessing only the images in the Document Image Repository that are associated with the user’s account,” the consent order states.

“Any authenticated user, after logging into their Fidelity.com account and attempting to retrieve an image associated with their account, could take certain actions to ultimately see that the Image ID was composed of a ten digit string of numbers,” the order continues.

In addition to paying the $1.25 million administrative fine, the Division has ordered Fidelity to engage an independent cybersecurity consultant, certify that cybersecurity controls related to customer data have been changed and enhanced, and to identify and notify all Massachusetts residents whose personal information was exposed in the data breach and who were not previously notified.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has levied a fine of $500,000 against Dub Advisors, an online investment adviser that allows clients to “copy” the trades of public figures. The fine was included in a settlement agreement, in which the company admitted to running paid advertisements flagged as inherently misleading.

According to a consent order filed with Galvin’s Securities Division, Dub Advisors advertises a feature called “copy trading,” allowing clients to attempt to replicate the portfolios of politicians, hedge fund managers, or other influential investors. Dub Advisors uses public disclosures, publicly available sources, and third-party financial data to create the “Premium Portfolios” of these well-known figures.

As noted in the consent order, in some instances, it is not possible for a Dub Advisors client to make the same purchase as the individual they are attempting to copy. Further, trades are executed on behalf of a Dub Advisor client only after the portfolio of the well-known individual has been updated.

To advertise this service, Dub Advisors created social media posts highlighting the portfolio performance of a well-known politician. An Instagram post cited daily performance for a specific day, though the post was created and submitted for approval before markets had closed. Dub Advisors did not include any of the necessary disclosures, adding a brief disclosure in the comments of the post only after it had been viewed by others, and omitting any information about how the data in the post was calculated.

Though it lacked sufficient disclosures, Dub Advisors paid to promote the post on social media for a period of two months, beginning two weeks after the graphic had originally been posted on Instagram. Dub Advisors’ chief of compliance eventually ordered the advertisement to cease, as internal Dub Advisors communications noted daily performance information “becomes stale the next day and thus misleading for potential customers,” and that the paid advertisement lacking proper disclosures “inherently is misleading.” Nonetheless, Dub Advisors continued to run the advertisement for another eleven days after the chief compliance officer’s order.

In addition to the $500,000 administrative fine for failure to supervise its agents, Dub Advisors has agreed to make payments of restitution to certain Massachusetts residents and to revise its policies to ensure sufficient, prominent, and specific disclosures, tailored to the advertising medium.

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the evacuation of British troops from Boston, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is readying a new exhibit at the Commonwealth Museum, highlighting the singular role Massachusetts played in the American Revolution.

Opening to the public this Thursday, “First to be Free – The Evacuation of Boston,” will display treasured Revolutionary War artifacts stored in the State Archives. The special exhibit will examine the Siege of Boston, the seizure of Fort Ticonderoga, the journey of Henry Knox as he delivered the cannon George Washington used to drive the British from Boston, and the ultimate evacuation of British forces on March 17, 1776. The exhibit will also look at the aftermath and the steps that Massachusetts took to create a new form of government, once free from British control

Among the treasures on display will be several letters sent to and from George Washington, written in March of 1776, regarding the defense of Boston Harbor and the evacuation of troops from Boston. Visitors will also be able to view letters from a more complicated Revolutionary figure, Benedict Arnold, whose letter and order for payment is included in the exhibit.

In a nod to the holiday that coincides with Evacuation Day, written military orders for the week of March 15-20, 1776 will be included in the exhibit. The orders list daily passwords used by Revolutionary troops, one of which was “St. Patrick.”

The exhibit will run beyond Evacuation Day, with Revolutionary documents and information remaining on display through the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4.

The Commonwealth Museum is a division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office, operating out of the Massachusetts State Archives at 200 Morrissey Blvd, on Dorchester’s Columbia Point, in Boston. Admission and parking at the museum are free. Additional information may be found at www.CommonwealthMuseum.org.

The process of qualifying for the 2026 ballot has officially begun, the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division announced today. Candidates seeking to run in the September 1st State Primaries or the November 3rd State Election may now obtain nomination papers.

Nomination papers, the petitions candidates use to request that their name be added to the ballot, are available at the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s offices today. Papers will also be made available in select city and town election offices later in the week.

Offices on Massachusetts ballots this year include U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, State Treasurer, State Auditor, Governor’s Councillor, State Senator, State Representative, District Attorney, and Register of Probate. Certain areas of the state may have additional county offices on the ballot.

Candidates for district and county offices have until April 28th to gather signatures from registered voters and submit them to local registrars for certification. They will then have until May 26th to file their papers with the State Elections Division.

Candidates for federal and statewide offices running in the Democratic and Republican Primaries must submit their nomination papers to local registrars no later than May 5th, and then file the certified papers with the Elections Division by June 2nd.

Non-party candidates for federal and statewide offices will have until July 28th to turn in their nomination papers at local registrars’ offices, and until August 25th to file them with the Elections Division.

The State Elections Division is located on the 17th Floor at One Ashburton Place, in Boston. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Western Office is located at 436 Dwight Street, Springfield, while the Southeastern Office may be found at 218 South Main Street, Fall River.

Candidates may find additional information on how to run for office on the Elections Division’s website.

The Elections Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office has announced that all ballot question petitions have completed processing, adding another two ballot questions to the total number of those advancing toward the 2026 State Election ballot.

In total, eleven petitions have been determined to contain more than the 74,574 certified signatures required to proceed to the next step in the process of qualifying for the ballot.

According to the Elections Division, the final signature counts for each petition are:

• "An Initiative Petition for a Law to Implement All-Party State Primaries" – 79,032
• "An Initiative Petition to Protect Tenants by Limiting Rent Increases" – 88,132
• "Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Election Day Registration" – 87,408
• "Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Reducing the State Personal Income Tax Rate from 5% to 4%" – 86,970
• "Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Regulating Marijuana" – 78,301
• "Initiative Petition for a Law to Improve Access to Public Records" – 89,013
• "Initiative Petition for an Act to Reform and Regulate Legislative Stipends" – 96,797
• "Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Labor Relations Policies for Committee for Public Counsel Services Employees" – 86,153
• "Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Limiting State Tax Collection Growth and Returning Surpluses to Taxpayers" – 85,588
• "Initiative Petition for a Law to Protect Water & Nature" – 89,216
• "Initiative Petition for a Law to Allow Single-Family Homes on Small Lots in Areas with Adequate Infrastructure" – 84,343
• "Initiative Petition for a Constitutional Amendment Regarding the Public Funding of Abortion" – 22,941
• "Initiative Petition for an Act to Repeal MBTA Zoning" – 4,647
• "Initiative Petition for a Law to Classify the Content of the Massachusetts Central Registry of Voters as Public Records" – 47
• "Initiative Petition for a Law to Require Voter Identification in Massachusetts (Version A)" – 35
• "Initiative Petition for a Proposed Constitutional Amendment – Recall Elections for Statewide, Countywide, and Districtwide Elected Officers" – 30
• "Initiative Petition for a Constitutional Amendment Relative to Voting Rights" – 26
• "Initiative Petition for an Act Preserving Local Control of Zoning" – 3,088
• "Initiative Petition for an Act to Prevent Overdevelopment" – 2,935
• "Initiative Petition for an Act Reforming the Zoning Process" – 2,890
• "Initiative Petition for a Law to Promote Consent and Transparency in Utility Billing" – 90
• "Initiative Petition for a Law to Guarantee Analog Utility Meter Availability and Informed Consent for Wireless Metering" – 111
• "Initiative Petition for a Law to Eliminate Revenue-Based Reconciliation in Utility Rate Structures" – 57

In accordance with the Massachusetts Constitution, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin will now transmit the eleven qualifying petitions to the Massachusetts Legislature. The Legislature will have until May 5, 2026 to consider and act on the proposals. If the Legislature chooses not to pass a proposed law, the petitioners will be permitted to gather the additional 12,429 signatures needed to place the question on the ballot in November.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is reminding Massachusetts residents preparing to file their 2025 tax returns to pay close attention to recent changes in federal tax laws before submitting a return.

Under the tax reform package signed into law in July of this year, Galvin warns, certain taxpayers will now be able to deduct up to $40,000 in state and local tax payments – but only if they itemize their deductions.

In previous years, the state and local tax deduction was capped at $10,000. The recent increase in the deduction is most likely to benefit Massachusetts homeowners with significant property tax bills or residents with high income tax payments.

"Many taxpayers may not realize that their property tax, auto excise tax, and state income tax can all be deducted, subject to the $40,000 cap and certain income limits," Galvin said. "Now is the time, at the beginning of the New Year, to consider your options and perhaps consult with a tax professional, to decide whether you should itemize your deductions to take advantage of this tax break."

As the official overseeing most registries of deeds in Massachusetts, Galvin often provides information for property owners relating to refinancing, tax abatements, and homestead protections. More information may be found on his website, at www.sec.state.ma.us/rod.

The Elections Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office has announced that petitions for five potential ballot questions have completed processing and have been determined to contain enough certified signatures to advance toward the 2026 State Election ballot.

According to the Elections Division, the following ballot questions contain more than the 74,574 certified signatures required to proceed to the next step in the process of qualifying for the ballot:

• "An Initiative Petition for a Law to Implement All-Party State Primaries" – 79,032
• "An Initiative Petition to Protect Tenants by Limiting Rent Increases" – 88,132
• "Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Election Day Registration" – 87,408
• "Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Reducing the State Personal Income Tax Rate from 5% to 4%" – 86,970
• "Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Regulating Marijuana" – 78,301

In total, the Elections Division received eleven ballot question filings of significant size by the December 3, 2025 filing deadline. The Division will continue to process the remaining six ballot questions ahead of its January 7, 2026 deadline to transmit qualifying petitions to the Massachusetts Legislature.

After qualifying petitions are transmitted on January 7, 2026, the Legislature will have until May 5, 2026 to consider and act on the proposals. If the Legislature chooses not to pass a proposed law, the petitioners will be permitted to gather the additional 12,429 signatures needed to place the question on the ballot in November.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has announced that nomination papers are now available for candidates running in a special state election being held in the Fifth Essex Representative District to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante of Gloucester.

According to the order adopted by the House of Representatives this morning, the special election will be held on March 31, 2026. Under state law, the special primaries will be held on March 3, 2026.

Candidates will have until January 20, 2026 to submit nomination papers to local registrars for certification of signatures. The last day to file certified nomination papers and other required paperwork with the Secretary of the Commonwealth is January 27, 2026. Nominations for the State Representative require a minimum of 150 certified signatures.

Nomination papers are available now at the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division, in Room 1705 of One Ashburton Place, in Boston. Papers can also be obtained from the Gloucester City Clerk’s office at Gloucester City Hall.

The Fifth Essex Representative District includes the City of Gloucester, as well as the towns of Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and Rockport.

Ahead of today’s deadline to file ballot question petitions for the 2026 ballot, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin announced that a record-breaking number of questions have already been filed with his Elections Division.

According to Galvin’s office, ten ballot question campaigns have already filed a significant number of petitions, while an eleventh campaign is expected to file this afternoon. Any questions that ultimately qualify for the 2026 ballot will be joined by a referendum question that was already filed and certified late last year, regarding “An Act Modernizing Firearms Laws.”

The highest number of ballot questions ever certified to appear on a state election ballot was nine, in 1972, 1976, and 1994. In recent years, ballots have typically contained between two and four statewide questions per election.

In order to advance to the next step in the process dictated by the Massachusetts Constitution, a ballot question campaign must submit at least 74,574 certified signatures to the Secretary’s office by 5 p.m. today. No more than 18,643 of those signatures are allowed to come from any individual county.

The exact number of signatures certified by the state will not immediately be available. Before signatures can be counted, Elections Division staff is required to review each petition sheet for disqualifying marks and proper certification by local election officials, a process that typically takes several weeks.

Any petitions that are determined to contain a sufficient number of certified signatures will be sent by the Secretary’s office to the Massachusetts Legislature in January. If the Legislature does not pass an initiative through the normal legislative process by May 5, 2026, petitioners can begin collecting the additional 12,429 needed to place the question on the November 3, 2026 State Election ballot.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has announced that nomination papers are now available for candidates running in the upcoming special state election being held in the First Middlesex Senate District, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Sen. Edward J. Kennedy of Lowell.

According to the order adopted by the State Senate this morning, the special election will be held on March 3, 2026. Under state law, the special primaries will be held on February 3, 2026.

Candidates will have until December 23 to submit nomination papers to local registrars for certification of signatures. The last day to file certified nomination papers and other required paperwork with the Secretary of the Commonwealth is December 30. Nominations for the State Senate require a minimum of 300 certified signatures.

Nomination papers are available now at the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division, in Room 1705 of One Ashburton Place, in Boston. Papers can also be obtained from the Lowell Elections Commission at 375 Merrimack Street in Lowell.

The First Middlesex Senate District includes the City of Lowell, as well as the towns of Dracut, Dunstable, Pepperell, and Tyngsborough.

Warning that legislation currently pending in the United States Senate would be a recipe for disaster for millions of savers, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin urged key senators to reconsider any bills under consideration that would restrict a state's ability to protect investors from fraud or punish bad actors.

In a letter sent Tuesday to the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chair Tim Scott and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren, as well as Senator Edward Markey, Galvin warned that the "Responsible Financial Innovation Act of 2025" would, as currently written, pre-empt a state's authority to regulate certain securities, such as penny and microcap stocks.

This is not the first time Galvin has sounded alarm bells about the effect that this type of legislation could have on retail investors. In August, Galvin wrote to the same senators regarding the "CLARITY Act," passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in July. That bill, Galvin warned, would weaken securities laws and leave investors open to being harmed by fraudsters.

"If state enforcement authority is preempted, a regulatory 'black hole' will likely exist that would allow retail investors to be snared in small offering fraud. An investment of a few hundred or even thousands of dollars might constitute a person's entire life savings – and, at the very least, represent the hard-earned savings of millions of Massachusetts residents," Galvin wrote.

Galvin is asking the Committee to amend the bill to address critical concerns regarding the exemption of penny stocks from state regulation and confusion over state oversight of tokenized "real world assets" like real estate.

Understanding that yesterday’s interest rate cut will have many borrowers itching to refinance, the focus of Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin’s visit to the Big E fair in West Springfield today was whether now is the time to refinance and other ways that borrowers can save on mortgages, loans, and credit cards.

As supervisor of most Registries of Deeds, as well as the state official tasked with regulating securities and providing information to the public, Galvin provides educational materials to residents on a variety of topics relating to homeownership and finance. While visiting the Big E on Thursday for Massachusetts Day, Galvin stopped by his office’s booth at the front of the Massachusetts Building to promote a newly-updated publication, “Why Should I Refinance and When does it Pay to Do So?”

As he greeted fair visitors, Galvin emphasized the importance of running the numbers before jumping at the chance to refinance. Cautioning that mortgage rates are not as closely tied to the Federal Reserve’s decisions as some other types of loans, he pointed out that such rates may drop more slowly. Galvin encouraged homeowners to visit his website, www.sec.state.ma.us/rod to find a mortgage refinancing calculator that will help them decide whether now is the time to refinance.

For those not looking to refinance right now, Galvin stressed that the recent rate cute may present other opportunities to save on monthly bills. He encouraged those with credit card debt to shop around and negotiate with credit card companies to match any newly-lowered rates they find.

The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office booth will be available at the Big E through Monday, September 22.  

As high school seniors prepare to go back to school and begin applying to colleges, uncertainty caused by recent changes to student loans programs may have students and parents alike concerned. To assist those looking for ways to achieve a degree without taking on excess debt, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin’s Citizen Information Service has compiled information about new financial aid programs available to Massachusetts students at public colleges and universities.

The new informational brochure, "Low and No Cost Options for Higher Education" highlights several new programs available through the Commonwealth’s institutions of higher learning. Detailed information is provided about the state’s free community college program, free tuition at state schools for lower income students, and scholarships available for high-achieving community college students transferring to one of the UMass campuses.

"In the last few years, Massachusetts has created several new pathways to affordable learning, but students and their parents may not be aware of these options," Galvin said. "This publication is meant to educate the public about grants and scholarships that may be available, to help alleviate the burden of student loans."

The information is available on Galvin’s website and as a print publication. Teachers and school administrators who wish to receive copies of printed brochures for their classrooms are encouraged to contact the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Citizen Information Service at 1-800-392-6090 or by email at cis@sec.state.ma.us.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has charged a Lexington woman with defrauding investors out of more than $7 million over the last 6 years, after she allegedly used her family’s well-known Western Massachusetts business as a front for a Ponzi scheme.

According to a complaint filed by Galvin’s Securities Division, Barbara Hirshfield offered and sold investment notes through Ideal Financial Holdings, Inc. Investors who purchased the promissory notes believed that they were investing in Hirshfield’s family business, which had for decades offered motor vehicle financing and small loans. Instead, since at least 2019, Hirshfield operated Ideal as a Ponzi scheme, using money raised from new investors to make interest payments to existing note holders.

The complaint states that Ideal Financial Holdings began as Ideal Budget Plan, Inc. in 1948, when Hirshfield’s father opened the company in Springfield. While the company operated for many years providing financing to consumers purchasing furniture, home appliances, and ultimately motor vehicles, in 2012, the Massachusetts Division of Banks ordered Ideal to cease soliciting outside funds to finance its business. In 2014, the Division of Banks revoked Ideal’s license to operate in Massachusetts.

Despite losing its license, the complaint states that Ideal continued to sell promissory notes and pay interest to existing note holders, with no underlying revenue stream. In order to make interest payments owed to existing investors, Hirshfield continued to solicit new investors.

Since 2019, Ideal raised more than $7.6 million from at least 180 investors, approximately $7.2 million of which was used to pay interest or repay principal to other investors. Investors began having issues with payments in the fall of 2024, with all payments stopping in April of 2025. Since early spring 2025, the Massachusetts Securities Division has received 54 complaints from investors who have not received money that was owed to them by Ideal. Hirshfield continued to raise funds from investors through April 2025.

According to the complaint, due to the company’s long history in the area, a large portion of the affected investors are residents of the Springfield area, descended from those who invested in Ideal in its early years. Many of the victims of this Ponzi scheme are related to one another.

The complaint alleges that Ideal’s "fraudulent business operations have deprived families of retirement funds, funds for unexpected expenses, and of financial security as they prepare to send their children and grandchildren off to college."

"Hirshfield’s actions have devastated the friends and families she and Ideal preyed upon for decades, robbing one investor to pay another until new investors stopped appearing," the complaint continues.

With the complaint, the Securities Division is seeking an order requiring the respondents to cease and desist any practices in violation of state securities laws and regulations, disgorgement of all ill-gotten gains, and that offers of rescission, with interest, be made to all investors.

The Secretary of the Commonwealth is the chief securities regulator in Massachusetts. Through the Securities Division, the office oversees enforcement of the Massachusetts Securities Act. Complaints filed by the Division are heard before a hearing officer in an administrative forum.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin, Chair of the Massachusetts Historical Commission, is reminding history buffs of the opportunity to take a tour on the Fourth of July at the historic "Church of the Presidents" in Quincy, the burial site of two U.S. Presidents and First Ladies.

Tours are being sponsored by the Historical Commission throughout the summer, and will be offered daily, with special Fourth of July tours offered next Friday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The Church of the Presidents, officially known as United First Parish Church, was the place of worship of our second and sixth presidents. President John Adams, who passed away on July 4, 1826, is entombed in the church's crypt, alongside and his wife, First Lady Abigail Adams, his son, President John Quincy Adams, and his daughter-in-law, First Lady Louisa Catherine Adams.

The tours are being sponsored as part of a series of events and celebrations leading up to the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding. In addition to the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 2026 will also be the 200th anniversary of the deaths of Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

The Church of the Presidents is located at 1306 Hancock Street in Quincy. Additional information is available at www.ufpc.org.

A former hotel banquet worker who defrauded several former coworkers out of more than $700,000 has been charged with fraud by Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin’s Securities Division, Galvin’s office announced today. David Markiewicz of Hull is alleged to have conducted a years-long scheme in which he created an LLC purportedly to solicit and manage investor funds, used fabricated earnings reports to cover up losses, and misappropriated investors’ money for personal use.

According to an administrative complaint filed by Galvin’s Securities Division, Markiewicz preyed upon his former coworkers at a Boston hotel, offering a “get rich quick options and securities program” while the hotel was shut down during the height of the pandemic. In total, twelve Massachusetts investors lost more than $700,000 over the course of eight years due to Markiewicz’s poor trading performance and his use of nearly investor funds as his own personal “piggy bank.”

The complaint states that in 2017, Markiewicz created Nantasket Trading, LLC, an entity used to give the scheme the air of legitimacy and to represent to investors that funds would managed through a pooled investment fund at the company. In reality, Markiewicz, who has never been registered to sell or trade securities in Massachusetts, deposited all investor funds into his personal bank account and traded futures and options contracts through his personal brokerage account.

Transferring only a portion of the funds into his brokerage account and later making several withdrawals from that account, Markiewicz used the remainder of investor funds to pay for shopping, travel, dining, and even a soccer academy in Arizona, the complaint states.

To cover up his scheme, Markiewicz provided investors with false earnings statements showing significant growth in investments. According to the complaint, even after losing nearly all of the funds, he continued to solicit additional investments, telling investors the time to invest “couldn’t be more advantageous.”

With the complaint, the Securities Division is seeking an order requiring Markiewicz and Nantasket Trading, LLC to disgorge all ill-gotten gains in connection with the fraudulent scheme, provide restitution with interest to all investors, be barred from registration in the securities industry in Massachusetts, and pay an administrative fine.

The Secretary of the Commonwealth is the chief securities regulator in Massachusetts. Through the Securities Division, the office oversees registration, inspections, compliance, examinations, and enforcement under the Massachusetts Securities Act. Complaints filed by the Division are heard before a hearing officer in an administrative forum.

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Commonwealth Museum's "Massachusetts 250" exhibit will re-open tomorrow, Bunker Hill Day, with additional artifacts and documents from the battle and its aftermath.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin, who oversees the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum, recently visited the Bunker Hill Monument to announce the updated exhibit, "Upon Such Ground: The Decisive Day." The exhibit's run has been extended through July 9, and will include a special viewing on July 4.

Following celebrations on the anniversary of the battle, on the morning of June 18, the Commonwealth Museum will be welcoming descendants of those who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. The descendants of Bunker Hill veterans will tour the museum and view the exhibit, which includes documents relating to payments to those veterans, a list of Bunker Hill veterans who participated in the 50th anniversary commemoration of the battle, a drum used in the battle, and more.

The Commonwealth Museum is located at 220 Morrissey Blvd. in Dorchester, across from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Admission and parking are free of charge. Additional information on the exhibit may be found at on the museum's website.

As part of a long-standing effort to prevent brokers from overcharging customers, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has led a nationwide crackdown on several large firms found to have charged nearly $19 million in unreasonably high commissions over a five-year period. As a result of the investigation, Edward Jones, LPL Financial, RBC, Stifel, and TD Ameritrade are required to pay up to $9,870,000 in fines and provide restitution to affected customers.

According to consent orders filed by Galvin’s Securities Division last week, the brokerage firms failed to ensure small-dollar transactions were executed at a fair and reasonable price, overcharging customers by applying minimum commission charges as high as $95, regardless of the reasonableness of the commissions. Firms are prohibited by state securities regulations from charging unreasonable commissions, with commission charges that exceed 5% of the total transaction often considered to be unreasonable.

"This custom that some brokerage firms have of nickel-and-diming customers in order to line their pockets with commissions is something that I and other securities regulators have been watching closely," Galvin said today. "We have secured similar settlements for overcharged customers with other firms in the past, and we will continue to keep our eyes on any other firms that attempt to charge small-dollar investors these unreasonable fees."

The settlements are the result of an ongoing investigation by a multi-state working group of securities regulators, in coordination with the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA). The working group, led by Galvin’s office, also included regulators in Alabama, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Texas, and Washington. At least 21 other states intend to join the settlement.

Due the settlement agreements secured by Galvin’s office, thousands of Massachusetts investors are expected to receive refunds in the amounts that they were overcharged, with 6% interest. The Commonwealth will also receive $255,000 in administrative fines.

Secretary Galvin has extended his thanks and appreciation to the state securities regulators in the six other states that participated in the investigation.

Alongside officials from the National Park Service at the Bunker Hill Monument today, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin announced a new series of official “MA 250” events commemorating the upcoming 250th anniversary for the Battle of Bunker Hill and other Revolutionary milestones.

Galvin, who is Chair of the Massachusetts Historical Commission and oversees the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum, announced an extension through July 9 of the Commonwealth Museum’s special exhibit, “Upon Such Ground: Massachusetts and the Birth of the Revolution.” The exhibit features Revolutionary artifacts and documents held in the Massachusetts Archives, and was originally scheduled to close after Bunker Hill Day, on June 17.

As the exhibit’s run is extended, it will also be revamped to center specifically around the Battle of Bunker Hill, which Galvin described as a critical and underappreciated part of the history of the American Revolution. Based on a quote from a June 18, 1775 letter from Abigail Adams to her husband, the new addition to the exhibit will be titled: “Upon Such Ground: The Decisive Day.”

Documents relating to payments to veterans who fought at Bunker Hill, an 1823 petition to erect a Bunker Hill monument, and an 1825 list of Bunker Hill veterans who participated in the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the battle are among those documents being added to the exhibit, according to Galvin.

In addition to the Bunker Hill exhibit, Galvin also announced the return of the Commonwealth Museum’s popular Fourth of July showing of the Declaration of Independence. In celebration of the start of America’s 250th Year of Independence, the Museum will be open on Independence Day from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. for visitors to view state’s original copy of the Declaration, signed by John Hancock.

Also open on the Fourth of July will be Quincy’s Church of the Presidents, where both Presidents John and John Quincy Adams are entombed with their wives, in the Adams Family Crypt. The United First Parish Church, commonly known as the Church of the Presidents, will offer tours of the crypt throughout the summer, funded by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Tours will be offered with limited hours on Independence Day, which will mark the 199th anniversary of the death of John Adams, who signed the Declaration of Independence 50 years before his death.

The Commonwealth Museum is located at 220 Morrissey Blvd. in Dorchester, across from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Admission and parking are free of charge. Additional information on the exhibit may be found at on the museum’s website.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has announced that special Memorial Day hours will be held at the Commonwealth Museum, where visitors can view artifacts from the earliest battles of the Revolutionary War. The museum’s special exhibit, “Upon Such Ground: Massachusetts and the Birth of the Revolution” will be open to the public from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Monday, May 26.

The special “America 250” exhibit features revolutionary artifacts held at the Massachusetts Archives, including an invoice from Paul Revere for a series of rides, a Paul Revere copper engraving, a drum used at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and a sword used by the officer who gave the order to fire on the British at Concord’s Old North Bridge.

Visitors will also be welcome to visit the museum’s Treasures Gallery, which holds original signed copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, as well as the original royal charters for Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Massachusetts State Constitution.

The Commonwealth Museum is located at 220 Morrissey Blvd. in Dorchester, across from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Admission and parking are free of charge. Additional information on the exhibit may be found at on the museum’s website.

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the “shot heard ‘round the world,” the Commonwealth Museum will be open for a Patriots’ Day weekend viewing of the special exhibit, “Upon Such Ground: Massachusetts and the Birth of the Revolution.” The museum will be open to the public, with free admission and parking, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 19 and Monday, April 21.

The special “America 250” exhibit features revolutionary artifacts held at the Massachusetts Archives, including an invoice from Paul Revere for a series of rides, a Paul Revere copper engraving, a drum used at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and a sword used by the officer who gave the order to fire on the British at Concord’s Old North Bridge.

While the 250th anniversary of the first shot fired in the American Revolution will fall on Saturday, April 19, the state holiday that celebrates the occasion is observed on Monday, April 21. The museum will be open on both days, though it will be closed on Easter Sunday.

“This is an opportunity for visitors to experience history up close on the anniversary of the day that it all began,” said Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin, who oversees the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum. “On this day, we celebrate the Revolution, appreciate the nation that came about as a result, and remember the need to fiercely defend our democratic way of life.”

The Commonwealth Museum is located at 220 Morrissey Blvd. in Dorchester, across from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Additional information on the exhibit may be found at on the museum’s website.

As the nation prepares to celebrate the 250^th anniversary of its independence next year, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is kick-starting the celebrations by highlighting the role that Massachusetts played at the start of the American Revolution. On March 17, one year out from the 250th anniversary of the retreat of British troops from Boston, Galvin will unveil a new exhibit at the Commonwealth Museum, displaying Revolutionary Era treasures from the Massachusetts Archives.

Galvin, who chairs the Massachusetts Historical Commission and oversees the Massachusetts State Archives, will unveil the special exhibit, “Upon Such Ground: Massachusetts and the Birth of the Revolution,” at a private reception held on the evening of Evacuation Day. It will open to the public on the following day, March 18, and run through Bunker Hill Day, June 17.

To underscore the seminal role that Massachusetts played in America’s separation from Great Britain and founding of a new republic, the exhibit features original archival documents and artifacts owned by the Commonwealth, as well as contributions from some of the nation’s premier Colonial and Revolutionary period scholars.

“This exhibit is a celebration of the unique and pivotal role that Massachusetts had in the founding of our country,” Galvin said. “It all began here, so it is appropriate that the 250th Anniversary celebrations also begin here.”

Among other treasures, the exhibit will include a drum used at the Battle of Bunker Hill; a bill from Paul Revere for a series of rides; a sword used by Major John Buttrick, who gave the order to fire on the British at Concord; the Boston Massacre trial papers; and a letter from John Hancock, appointing officers to command Continental forces.

The Commonwealth Museum is located inside the Massachusetts State Archives building at 220 Morrissey Blvd., in Dorchester, across from the JFK Presidential Library. Parking and admission for visitors is free. Additional information can be found at www.CommonwealthMuseum.org.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has released nomination papers for a special election in the 3rd Bristol State Representative District. The election was called by the House of Representatives earlier today, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Representative Carol A. Doherty.

In accordance with the House’s order, the special election will be held on June 10, 2025. A primary will be held on May 13, 2025.

Candidates seeking to have their names printed on the ballot will have until April 1 to gather signatures on nomination papers and submit them to local election officials in the district. At least 150 certified signatures must be filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division by April 8, along with other required paperwork.

The 3rd Bristol District includes much of Taunton and parts of Easton. In Taunton, it consists of precincts A and B in ward 1 and all of wards 2, 5, 7, and 8. In Easton, the district includes precincts 4A, 5, and 6.

Nomination papers are available now at the Elections Division’s Boston office at One Ashburton Place. They will also be available later today in the offices of the Taunton Elections Department and the Easton Town Clerk.

After an investigator in his office concluded that there were “serious problems” with the City of Boston’s administration of the 2024 State Election, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has ordered the Boston Election Commission to take specific steps to overhaul its practices and comply with state election laws. To oversee this process, Galvin will appoint a designee to assist Boston with election administration, who will remain in place through the 2025 and 2026 elections. 

The Order is the result of an investigation into Boston’s failure to provide a sufficient quantity of ballots to its polling places for the recent federal election. The investigator appointed by Galvin to conduct the investigation today issued a report of her findings, with recommendations. State law permits the Secretary of the Commonwealth to investigate violations of election laws by election officials and to order officials to comply with the law.

“It has been determined that the Boston Election Department failed to supply polling locations with a sufficient number of ballots causing some locations to run out of ballots for a significant period of time. This resulted in voters in the City experiencing needless and unacceptable delays in voting and, in some cases, disfranchisement because the voter was unable to wait,” the investigator’s report states.

In addition to the failure of the Boston Election Department to deliver enough ballots to polling places throughout the city, the investigation also determined the city had inadequate communications systems in place to allow timely contact with polling locations and provided insufficient training to poll workers regarding ballot shortages and tabulator issues.

The report notes that Massachusetts election law requires at least one ballot to be available for every voter. Despite receiving an ample supply of ballots from the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office prior to Election Day, the City of Boston failed to comply with this law.

The investigator also concluded that the ballot shortage at polling places was exacerbated by the city’s failure to maintain contact with polling places throughout the day. While phones are provided in each precinct, the Boston Elections Department did not complete regular check-ins with polling places. Further, phone systems at City Hall were unable to handle the volume of incoming calls. As a result, both election officials and voters were unable to reach the Elections Department as ballot supplies dwindled. 

“A major problem that was evident was the inability of the Boston Election Department to directly communicate, in real time, with each voting precinct in order to determine and prioritize those locations that had run out of ballots or had an immediate need for additional ballots,” the report states. 

Consistent with the report’s recommendations, Galvin is ordering the City of Boston to take specific actions to review and overhaul existing practices with respect to poll worker training, communications, and ballot supplies. Under the Order, the Boston Election Department must develop comprehensive plans for pre-election preparations, Election Day administration, and any post-election issues.  

Subject to the Secretary’s approval, the city must adopt plans for ensuring communication with all polling places and members of the public on Election Day. Any issues that arise on Election Day must be monitored and reported to Galvin’s Elections Division immediately. 

To assist the City of Boston in complying with his Order and administering upcoming city and state elections, Galvin will appoint a designee to review the proposed plans, monitor implementation of those plans, and report to his office on any issues that may arise before, on, or after Election Day. 

The Secretary’s designee will remain in place through the end of 2026, assisting with the 2025 municipal elections and 2026 state elections. The Order states that it may be extended beyond 2026, if necessary. 

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has released a calendar of deadlines for a special election for state representative in the 6^th Essex District that has been called by the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Earlier today, the House of Representatives adopted an order to call a special election to fill the vacant seat formerly held by Representative Jerald A. Parisella, who declined to take the oath of office when the House was sworn-in to a new term on January 1.

According to the House’s order, the special election will be held on May 13, 2025. In accordance with state law, the special state primaries for the election will be held on April 15, 2025.

Candidates seeking to have their names printed on the ballot will have until March 4 to gather signatures on nomination papers and submit them to local election officials in the district. At least 150 certified signatures and other required paperwork must be filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division by March 11.

Nomination papers will be available today at the Elections Division’s Boston office and at the Beverly City Clerk’s office. The 6th Essex District includes the entire City of Beverly and Precinct 1 of Wenham.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is levying more than $2.1 million in penalties against student loan refinancer Yrefy, over misleading private placement advertisements that were aimed at Massachusetts investors.

Galvin’s Securities Division opened an investigation into Yrefy in 2024, after the company began airing radio and television advertisements that featured well-known individuals promoting a promissory note offering. The ads, some of which were directed at residents aged 55 and older contained no disclosure that the individuals were paid. Such disclosure is required by state and federal securities laws.

A consent order filed by the Securities Division identifies the paid Yrefy endorsers as “Media Personality #1” and “Media Personality #2.” The consent order states that Media Personality #1 is a TV host and writer who earned at least $726,500 for endorsing and promoting the offering, while Media Personality #2 received at least $184,750.

According to the consent order, Yrefy paid at least 17 other media personalities to endorse their offering, all with substantially similar scripts. The advertisements promoted the purported virtues of the investment to viewers and listeners in a friendly, familiar tone, and all lacked the legally-required disclosures that the promoters were paid endorsers. In total, Yrefy paid millions of dollars to run these ads nationally.

In addition to its failure to disclose that these media personalities were paid promoters of securities products, the Division concluded Yrefy misled investors about the terms of the investment, including the fixed return rate and early withdrawal penalties.

As part of the settlement with the Securities Division, Yrefy has agreed to pay an administrative fine of $750,000 to the Commonwealth and to make offers of rescission to eight Massachusetts investors who collectively purchased $1,418,000 in promissory notes. Yrefy has also agreed to cease airing paid endorsements in Massachusetts that lack disclosures.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is reminding property owners receiving higher than expected third quarter tax bills this week that the deadline to file for a property tax abatement is just a few weeks away.

“If you believe that the description of your property is inaccurate and over-assessed, an abatement will be the only remedy available to reduce your tax bill,” Galvin said today. “Homeowners in some communities, including Boston, have already received their bills. Now is the time to consider whether to apply for an abatement.”

In more than 80% of cities and towns in Massachusetts, abatement applications must be submitted by the deadline to pay third quarter tax bills. With that February 1st deadline falling on a Saturday this year, residents are advised to submit their applications early, to ensure there are no issues with filing.

If a request for an abatement is denied, the applicant may appeal to the State Appellate Tax Board. Guidance available from Secretary Galvin’s Citizen Information Service includes tips for homeowners to ensure they do not lose their right to appeal by missing key deadlines.

Abatement and property tax exemption forms are available at all municipal assessors’ offices. Exemptions are also available in many communities for disabled veterans, elderly residents, blind homeowners, and minor children of a deceased parent. 

Homeowners may find more information here. Those who need assistance may call the Citizen Information Service at 1-800-392-6090 for additional resources. 

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin will preside today over the meeting of the Electoral College in Massachusetts, as eleven Massachusetts Electors fulfill their constitutional duty to cast the Commonwealth’s votes for President and Vice President.

As required by the U.S. Constitution, 538 Electors will be meet across all 50 states and the District of Columbia to cast their votes. Galvin, the nation’s senior-most election official, will preside over the meeting in Massachusetts, collect the ballots from the Electors, and transmit the votes to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.

The meeting of the Massachusetts Electors will take place at 3 p.m. at the State House, in the House Chamber. In accordance with the majority of votes cast by Massachusetts voters on November 5, 2024, Massachusetts Electors will cast their presidential votes for Kamala Harris and their vice presidential votes for Tim Walz.

Members of the public are invited to watch the proceedings, which will be streamed online. Limited viewing space is also available in the public galleries of the House of Representatives.

Having received official certified election results from all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has announced that 3,512,866 Massachusetts voters participated in the November 5, 2024 State Election.

Though this election had the second-highest number of ballots cast in Massachusetts history, the turnout represents a drop in participation from the 2020 State Election, in which 3,657,972 ballots were cast at the height of the pandemic. Turnout easily exceeded the 3,378,801 votes cast in November of 2016.

“The turnout in Massachusetts appears to reflect a national trend, with a significant drop in participation in several of our cities, especially those with larger minority populations, and a slightly smaller rise in turnout in the more rural and suburban areas of the state,” Galvin said today.

According to Galvin’s office, the City of Chelsea saw a 16.7% drop in the number of ballots cast, when compared with the 2020 election, while Everett, Randolph, Revere, Malden, Lynn, and Boston all saw a decrease of more than 10% from that election. In Boston alone, turnout declined by nearly 30,000.

While the decrease from 2020 may be partially attributed to differences in voting behavior and lifestyle since the height of the pandemic, a comparison to the 2016 election also shows a drop in participation among several cities. From 2016, Amherst, Lawrence, Holyoke, Chelsea, and Everett all saw decreases of more than 10% in the number of votes cast. While Amherst’s total registered voters has declined since 2016, the other four communities have all gained voters in the last eight years.

Due to the Commonwealth’s adoption of automatic voter registration 4 years ago, Galvin cautions against measuring the turnout increase or decrease by the percentage of registered voters in Massachusetts.

“Citizens in Massachusetts are now registered to vote when they renew a driver’s license or sign up for health insurance through the Health Connector. As a result, simply looking at the percentage of registered voters who voted, in comparison to previous elections, would give a false impression of a significant decline in statewide turnout,” Galvin explained. “The number of registered voters in Massachusetts is at a record high, at over 5 million.”

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is urging Massachusetts citizens who would like to vote in the election on November 5 to make sure they are registered to vote by this Saturday, October 26. Saturday is the last day for voters to register or update their address for the upcoming State Election.

"If you want to vote for president, any other office on the ballot, or these ballot questions, you need to be registered to vote," Galvin said today. "Even if you are already a voter, if you've moved since the last time you voted, I urge you to check that your address is up to date before it's too late."

In Massachusetts, voters must be registered at least 10 days before Election Day in order to be able to vote. While certain grace periods exist in state law for those who move, voters should register to vote each time they change their residence.

Voter registration is available online for any resident who has a Massachusetts driver's license or state identification card from the Registry of Motor Vehicles, but Galvin is also warning those who were recently naturalized not to plan to register online.

"The RMV must be able to verify your identity and eligibility, before you can submit a registration form online," he warned. "If you recently became a U.S. citizen and you have not been to the Registry to provide your citizenship documentation yet, you will need to register to vote using a paper form, either by mail or in person."

Galvin also noted that those who are naturalized after the October 26 registration deadline may still vote on November 5. State law allows these new citizens to register to vote in person at their local election office until 4 p.m. on November 4, though they must bring proof that they were naturalized after the last day to register.

In-person voter registration is available on Saturday until 5 p.m. at local election offices and early voting locations. To be valid for the November 5 election, mail-in registration forms must be postmarked by October 26, while online registrations must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on October 26.

Voters may visit Galvin's website, www.VoteInMA.com to check their voter registration information, register, or update their registration. Those who need to register in person may also find the location of their local election office or early voting sites on the same website.

Voters in Massachusetts who would like to vote before November 5th can begin casting ballots in person this weekend, according to Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin. The state’s in-person early voting period begins on Saturday, October 19 and runs through Friday, November 1.

Available to all registered voters who have not already cast a ballot, in-person early voting occurs over a 14-day period that includes two weekends. Every community is required to offer a certain number of early voting hours on each weekend, relative to the number of voters in the city or town.

Those who still need to register to vote or update their address have until Saturday, October 26 to do so. A resident who visits an early voting location before the voter registration deadline will be able to register and vote during the same visit.

Voters may visit Galvin’s website at www.VoteInMA.com to find their city or town’s early voting schedule and locations. Voters can cast a ballot at any early voting location in their city or town during early voting hours, though they are advised that many towns have limited hours on Fridays.

“Early voting offers each voter the convenience of casting their ballot at a time that works for them,” Galvin said today. “If you prefer to vote in person, this gives you that opportunity, even if Election Day is a busy day for you.”

Galvin is also reminding those who requested mail-in ballots that they stop in at their local early voting location to return their ballot.

“Like ballot drop boxes, early voting locations are a good alternative to mailing your ballot back,” Galvin said. “This allows you to hand your ballot directly to an election official, bypassing the mail and ensuring your ballot is submitted in time to be counted.”

One week after voters selected party nominees for other offices, candidates for President and Vice President on the Massachusetts November 5 State Election ballot have now been finalized, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin announced today.

As required by state law, the surnames of the candidates for president and vice president will be printed on the ballot in alphabetical order. The following candidate names will appear on Massachusetts ballots:

• AYYADURAI and ELLIS, Independent
• DE LA CRUZ and GARCIA, Socialism and Liberation 
• HARRIS and WALZ, Democratic 
• OLIVER and TER MAAT, Libertarian 
• STEIN and CABALLERO-ROCA, Green-Rainbow Party 
• TRUMP and VANCE, Republican  

A seventh presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., submitted a sufficient number of signatures to qualify for the ballot. In light of the candidate’s recent public statements about the status of his campaign, the Kennedy campaign has assented to the removal of his name from the ballot in Massachusetts.

In addition to selecting electors for president and vice president, voters in November will also see the offices of U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Governor’s Councillor, State Senator, State Representative, Clerk of Courts, Register of Deeds, and certain other county offices on their ballots.

Party nominees for the above offices were selected at last Tuesday’s State Primaries. Secretary Galvin announced today that 841,855 voters casts ballots in that election. Among those voters, 619,754 voted in the Democratic Primary, 217,963 voted in the Republican Primary, and 4,138 voted in the Libertarian Primary. Turnout in the 2024 State Primaries was the second highest for a state primary in a presidential election year since 1992.

Finalized results for the State Primaries and a complete list of November State Election candidates will be available on Galvin’s website after recounts have been completed.

An investigation into trading by an executive at First Republic Bank (FRB) in the weeks leading up to its 2023 collapse has resulted in a $2 million fine for Morgan Stanley, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin announced today.

According to a consent order filed by Galvin’s Securities Division, Morgan Stanley failed to ensure its client, a former CEO and insider at First Republic, was not acting on material non-public information when he unloaded thousands of First Republic shares in the days and months prior to the collapse.

Morgan Stanley’s own compliance manual prohibits its agents from buying or selling securities if they believe their client is trading while in possession of material non-public information. Nonetheless, its employees failed to confirm the executive was not trading on the basis of inside information and also dismissed a series of red flags concerning the sale of more than $6.8 million in FRB stock by the insider.

The consent order states that the former CEO, identified as “Customer One,” effected the sale of FRB stock from February 2022 through March 2023, with the last sale occurring three days before FRB stock prices sharply declined. In doing so, the individual avoided a near complete loss. For its part, Morgan Stanley identified public statements made by the former CEO regarding First Republic operations that were later shown to be inaccurate.

At the time of the sales, Morgan Stanley had no specific policies in place to address transactions made on behalf of insiders at companies reporting to the FDIC, rather than the SEC, the complaint states. Further, while Morgan Stanley was aware of the customer’s relationship with First Republic, it removed a notation identifying him as an affiliate, which caused several internal compliance checks to be removed.

When employees did review trades, they did not conduct meaningful reviews. In reviewing potential insider trading alerts, monitoring officers incorrectly concluded, after only one minute, that there was no relationship between the customer and First Republic, the complaint states — something that could have been easily identified through a straightforward internet search. 

The Securities Division’s investigation also uncovered instances of off-channel communications by the Morgan Stanley managing director who serviced the First Republic CEO’s accounts, conduct for which Morgan Stanley has previously been fined $125 million by the SEC. In particular, such conduct included the failure to retain text messages on a personal device.  

In addition to the $2 million fine, Morgan Stanley has been ordered to conduct an internal review of its policies and procedures concerning the identification and coding of senior officers of publicly-traded companies and to provide training to all it its Massachusetts registered broker-dealers on record-keeping and the prevention of insider trading. 

With five binding statewide ballot questions officially certified to appear on the November 5, 2024 State Election ballot, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has assigned question numbers to each initiative.

The questions on the November ballot will appear as follows:

• Question 1: State Auditor’s Authority to Audit the Legislature
• Question 2: Elimination of MCAS as High School Graduation Requirement
• Question 3: Unionization for Transportation Network Drivers
• Question 4: Limited Legalization and Regulation of Certain Natural Psychedelic Substances
• Question 5: Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers.

Under state law, the assignment of ballot question numbers are left to the discretion of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Numbers are typically assigned in a manner that will ensure the best possible ballot layout, given the length of the question summaries.

In September, all households in Massachusetts will receive an Information for Voters booklet, published by Galvin’s Elections Division, containing detailed information on each question. The booklet will include the text of each question, as well as a summary of the proposed law, the full text of the proposed law, statements about what a yes or no vote would do, and arguments drafted by proponents and opponents of each question.

Ballots in certain cities and towns may include additional local or non-binding public policy questions. A full listing of ballot questions will be available from the Elections Division in September.

With less than two months to go before the September 3rd State Primaries, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is reminding voters to be on the lookout for an official 2024 Vote by Mail application.

As required by state law, Galvin’s Elections Division is in the process of sending applications to all registered voters who have not already applied for a State Primary ballot. Voters who already applied earlier this year will not receive another application.

Any voter who wishes to vote by mail in one of the upcoming party primaries may use this pre-addressed, postage pre-paid application to request their ballot. Unenrolled voters, often called “Independents,” can vote in the party primary of their choice, but they must indicate their party ballot selection on the application.

“These applications will look very similar to the ones that were sent to voters in January, ahead of the Presidential Primaries,” Galvin said today. “You will only receive an application if you haven’t already applied, or if you didn’t make a party selection on your previous application.”

“Of course, if you’d rather vote in person, you don’t need to send the application back. Early voting for the State Primaries begins August 24th,” he continued.

Applications being mailed to voters this week allow a voter to apply for a September Primary ballot, a November general election ballot, or both. Voters who prefer to apply online may do so at www.VoteInMA.com.  

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has certified four ballot questions to appear on the November 5, 2024 State Election ballot. A potential fifth question, which appears to have submitted enough voter signatures to qualify, is being challenged before the State Ballot Law Commission.

In order to place a question on the November ballot, campaigns needed to file petitions containing at least 12,429 certified voter signatures with Galvin’s Elections Division by July 3. This was the second filing for these petitions, with last year’s initial filing requiring at least 74,574 certified signatures.

For this final round of signature submission, Galvin has certified the following signature totals:

• State Auditor’s Authority to Audit the Legislature: 21,551
• Elimination of MCAS as High School Graduation Requirement: 19,692
• Unionization for Transportation Network Drivers: 18,084
• Limited Legalization and Regulation of Certain Natural Psychedelic Substances: 13,073

Petitioners for a fifth question, Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers, filed 12,565 certified signatures; however, an objection has been filed with the State Ballot Law Commission to several of the signatures and petition sheets that were submitted. The Commission will hold a hearing to consider the objection on or after July 17.

Ballot question numbers for each of the questions will be assigned by Galvin at a later date.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin, Chair of the Massachusetts Historical Commission, announced today that his office is sponsoring free pubic tours at the “Church of the Presidents” in Quincy, the burial site of two U.S. Presidents and First Ladies.

Tours funded by the Historical Commission will be offered daily throughout the summer, with special Fourth of July tours offered this Thursday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The Church of the Presidents, officially known as United First Parish Church, was the place of worship of our second and sixth presidents. President John Adams is entombed in the church’s crypt, alongside and his wife, First Lady Abigail Adams. President John Quincy Adams and his wife, First Lady Louisa Catherine Adams are also laid to rest in the family crypt.

“Thursday will mark the 198th anniversary of the death of President John Adams, as well as his political rival, Thomas Jefferson,” Galvin said. “Remarkably, both presidents passed away on the 50th anniversary of their signing of the Declaration of Independence. These tours offer local residents and visitors the chance to pay their respects and learn about our history, alongside their celebrations.”

The Church of the Presidents is located at 1306 Hancock Street in Quincy. Additional information is available at www.ufpc.org. 

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is issuing a reminder to candidates running in the 2024 State Primary and State Election for district or county office to file all necessary paperwork with his Elections Division by May 28, in order to qualify for the ballot. Candidates must file their nomination papers and other required documents by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, in order to have their names printed on the ballot.

Next week's filing deadline applies to all candidates running for State Representative, State Senator, Governor's Council, Clerk of Courts, Register of Deeds, County Commissioner, and Register of Probate. Candidates for federal offices, including U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, and U.S. President have later filing deadlines.

"With the filing deadline falling on the day after Memorial Day, I would like to remind all candidates that state offices will be closed Monday, and they should plan their filings accordingly," Galvin said today.

Candidates may file the necessary paperwork, including their certified nomination papers, a certified enrollment certificate, a written acceptance of the nomination, and a receipt from the State Ethics Commission, in Galvin's Boston, Springfield, or Fall River offices. Candidates are discouraged from filing by mail, as documents that arrive after Tuesday's deadline cannot be accepted.

Additional information may be found on the Elections Division's website.

With all 351 cities and towns having reported unofficial results for Tuesday's primaries, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has announced that more than 1.2 million voters participated in the Massachusetts Presidential Preference Primaries.

Unofficial tallies show that at least 1,119,876 voters cast their votes for President in the Democratic and Republican primaries on Tuesday. A small number of Libertarian votes pushes the total unofficial tally over 1.2 million, with more votes expected to be added later this week, as local clerks certify write-in votes, blank votes, and provisional ballots.

With more than 567,000 ballots cast, the turnout in the Republican Primary was the second highest in Massachusetts history, surpassed only by the 2016 Republican Presidential Primary. With more than 632,000 ballots cast, the turnout in the Democratic Presidential Primary was the highest in recent history in which an incumbent president was on the ballot.

The 2024 Presidential Preference Primary was the first such election since the current no-excuse Vote by Mail program began in Massachusetts. Of ballots cast in the Democratic and Republican primaries, only 51.8% were cast on Election Day. The remaining 48.2% of voters opted for early or absentee ballots, nearly all of which were cast by mail.

"There is little doubt that the availability of Vote by Mail ballots helped drive turnout in this primary," Galvin said today. "It is a testament to the success of our Vote by Mail program that nearly half of those who voted did so with a mail-in ballot."

Vote by Mail was a popular option among both major party voters. In the Democratic Primary, 62.5% of voters cast their ballots outside of polling places on Election Day, while 32.3% of Republican voters took advantage of mail or early voting.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is encouraging voters to take advantage of weekend voting hours being held across the Commonwealth this Saturday, as in-person early voting for the Massachusetts Presidential Primaries kicks off. Early voting for the primaries will run through Friday, March 1^st.

All cities and towns will offer early voting hours this Saturday, with larger communities also holding early voting on Sunday. Voters may find their community’s early voting schedule and locations at www.VoteInMA.com.

Saturday, February 24^th is also the last day for voters to register to vote in the March 5^th Primaries. Those who need to register, update their address, or change their party affiliation may do so in person at a local election office until 5 p.m. or online at www.VoteInMA.com until 11:59 p.m. Voter registration is also available at early voting sites during voting hours on Saturday.

Any registered voter who has not already returned a Vote by Mail ballot may cast a ballot in person at an early voting site in their city or town or at their polling place on March 5^th. As of Wednesday afternoon, approximately 700,000 Massachusetts voters had applied to vote by mail, with more than 200,000 ballots already cast.

Voters who are note enrolled in a political party, commonly called “independents,” may choose to vote in the Democratic, Republican, or Libertarian Primary without becoming a member of a party. Voters enrolled in a political party may vote only in their own party’s primary.

Candidates who wish to run in the 2024 State Primary or State Election can now begin collecting signatures to get on the ballot, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin announced today.

Nomination papers for candidates are now available at the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division, located at One Ashburton Place in Boston. Candidates may pick up nomination papers later today in at Galvin’s offices in Springfield and Fall River.

Beginning next Tuesday, nomination papers will also be made available in local election offices in Barnstable, Brockton, Chelmsford, Fitchburg, Framingham, Gardner, Haverhill, Nantucket, Northampton, Peabody, Pittsfield, Tisbury, and Worcester. Offices to be filled at this year’s election include Electors of President & Vice President, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Governor’s Councillor, State Senator, State Representative, Register of Deeds, Clerk of Courts, County Commissioner, and vacancies for Register of Probate in Hampshire and Suffolk Counties.

Candidates for district and county offices have until April 30, 2024 to gather signatures and submit their papers to local registrars of voters for certification. Those certified signatures must then be filed with the Elections Division by May 28, 2024.

Those running in the State Primary for federal office have until May 7, 2024 to gather their signatures and submit them to local registrars, and until June 4, 2024 to file with the Elections Division.

Non-party candidates for federal office will have until July 30, 2024 to turn their nomination papers in to local registrars, and until August 27, 2024 to file them with Galvin’s office.

Candidates may find additional information on how to run for office at www.sec.state.ma.us/elections.

With the Massachusetts Presidential Primaries just four weeks away, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is reminding voters who wish to cast their ballots by mail to submit a Vote by Mail application as soon as possible.

As of this week, more than 500,000 Massachusetts voters had already applied for a mail-in ballot for the March 5, 2024 Presidential Primaries. Voters who want to vote by mail are encouraged to submit their applications at least 2 weeks before Election Day, to allow for expected mailing times.

“Voting by mail has become extremely popular among Massachusetts voters over the last few years,” Galvin said. “With more than half a million applications submitted in the first month of 2024, I think we can expect a large number of mail-in ballots to be cast in all three statewide elections this year.”

Every registered voter in Massachusetts received an official 2024 Vote by Mail application from Galvin’s Elections Division last month. In addition to the March 5th Presidential Primaries, voters may also use that application to apply for mail-in ballots for the September 3rd State Primary and November 5th State Election.

Voters also have the option to submit Vote by Mail applications online, at www.VoteInMA.com. All applications for a Presidential Primary ballot must reach the appropriate local election office by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, February 27th.

With the average property tax bill for a single-family home in Massachusetts now over $7,000, homeowners may be looking for options to lower their bills, whether through an abatement, exemption, or deferral. Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is reminding property owners that the deadline to apply for a property tax abatement in most communities is this Thursday, February 1.

February 1 is the deadline for 3rd quarter property tax payments in more than 80% of the cities and towns in Massachusetts. It is also the last day to file for an abatement in those communities. If a homeowner believes that the description of their property is inaccurate and over-assessed, an abatement will be the only remedy to reduce their property tax bill.

An applicant whose request for an abatement is denied may appeal to the State Appellate Tax Board. Guidance available from Secretary Galvin’s Citizen Information Service includes tips for homeowners to ensure they do not lose their right to appeal by missing key deadlines.

Abatement and property tax exemption forms are available at all municipal assessors’ offices. Exemptions are also available in many communities for certain elderly homeowners, the blind, disabled veterans, minor children of a deceased parent, or minor children of police or firefighters killed in the line of duty.

Homeowners may find more information on Galvin’s website. Those who need assistance may call the Citizen Information Service at 1-800-392-6090 for additional resources.

After spending more than three years fighting the charges, Robinhood Financial, LLC has agreed to settle a 2020 case brought by Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin over the online trading platform’s use of gamification strategies to attract and manipulate customers. As part of that settlement, Robinhood has agreed to pay an administrative fine of $7.5 million and overhaul its digital engagement practices.

In a consent order filed with Galvin’s Securities Division today, Robinhood agreed to resolve administrative complaints filed in 2020 and 2021. The consent order also addresses issues uncovered through an additional investigation by the Division into a 2021 data security breach that affected Massachusetts customers.

“While I’m happy that this case with Robinhood has finally been resolved, I’m most grateful that after being thoroughly tested in court, the Massachusetts Fiduciary Rule remains the law of the land,” Galvin said today. “This rule allows my office to ensure that investors’ interests are being protected in this state, and I hope that other states follow suit.”

Galvin’s office has objected to the gamification of trading used by Robinhood to encourage digital engagement on its platform. As detailed in the consent order, Robinhood has previously used confetti animation, digital scratch tickets, free stock rewards and other game-like features to push customers to interact with the app. The app also employed push notifications and “most popular” lists to encourage frequent trades.

In 2021, Robinhood sued Galvin’s office, in an attempt to block the administrative proceedings against the broker-dealer. After a decision in Suffolk Superior Court and a subsequent appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Galvin’s authority to promulgate the Massachusetts Fiduciary Rule was upheld and the case was allowed to proceed in August of 2023.

While Robinhood ceased many of its gamification tactics after complaints were filed by the Securities Division, the settlement in this case ensures that for Massachusetts customer accounts, Robinhood will cease any future use of celebratory imagery tied to the frequency of trading, push notifications highlighting specific lists, and features that mimic games of chance. Robinhood must also add disclosures to its lists and engage an independent compliance consultant to evaluate other digital engagement practices that remain in use.

In addition to the gamification issues described in previous administrative complaints, the consent order also addresses serious cybersecurity issues identified by the Division after a November 2021 data security breach that affected approximately 117,000 customers in Massachusetts.

According to the consent order, an unauthorized third party was able to access Robinhood customer information due to a voice phishing scam that convinced an agent to download and run a third-party remote access software on a Robinhood-issued laptop. Robinhood devices did not block the installation of such unauthorized software.

The agent, left with inadequate direction on how to report critical data breaches, was unable to reach anyone at Robinhood to report the data breach for nearly an hour. The agent tried repeatedly to contact Robinhood for help, only to encounter silence, automated messages, and in one case, and internal bot named “Halp.” After the data breach occurred, while under Robinhood’s supervision, the agent submitted a play-by-play account of the breach in cloaked email purporting to include the agent’s resume.

“It is clear from the facts gathered in our investigation that Robinhood’s internal cybersecurity policies and procedures were deficient,” Galvin said. “Not only did the company not have the necessary technological safeguards in place to protect investor information, but the failure to ensure that an employee could immediately and easily report a data breach to an actual human is unacceptable.”

Robinhood has admitted to the facts concerning the data breach that are detailed in the consent order, and has agreed to undergo an independent review its cybersecurity policies.

The filing of the consent order comes just a day before the broker-dealer’s deadline to file an appeal of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s August 2023 decision with the U.S. Supreme Court. Robinhood has agreed not to seek an appeal and to dismiss, with prejudice, litigation pending in Suffolk Superior Court.

With Super Tuesday quickly approaching, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is telling voters to be on the lookout for their Official 2024 Vote by Mail Application.

Galvin’s Elections Division has begun the process of mailing applications to every Massachusetts voter, as required by state law. Applications for the March 5, 2024 Presidential Primaries will be sent to each of the Commonwealth’s 4.9 million voters on a rolling basis, continuing through the end of next week.

“The application looks very similar to the ones that were sent out in 2022 and 2020,” Galvin said. “These official mailings have the state seal printed on the outside, to help voters distinguish them from any political mailings they may also be receiving.”

Voters can use the Vote by Mail application to apply for a mail-in ballot for a specific election or for all elections this year. Those who select the option for “All 2024 Elections” will also receive their September State Primary and November State Election ballots in the mail.

Galvin is also reminding unenrolled voters, commonly called “Independents,” who wish to vote in a primary, to make sure they select a party on their application.

“Independent voters are allowed to vote in primaries, but they need to select a ballot,” Galvin said. “Voting in a primary won’t register you in a party, but your local election official needs to know which party’s ballot to mail to you.”

Applications for Presidential Primary ballots must reach local election offices by Tuesday, February 27th. Voters are advised to return their applications as early as possible, however, to account for mail delivery times.

Applications can also be submitted online, through the Secretary’s website, at www.VoteInMA.com.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin announced today that his Corporations Division has brought in more than $14 million in revenue for the state’s General Fund, through its 2023 Corporate Dissolution Project.

The project, which Galvin’s office runs annually, ensures that corporations pay required fees to the Commonwealth. Domestic and foreign corporations and LLCs must file annual reports, along with a filing fee, in order to be in good standing with the state.

In September, the Corporations Division sent notice approximately 68,000 corporate entities that they faced dissolution or revocation for failure to file two consecutive annual reports, with filing fees. As of the end of the year, $14,171,375 in past due fees had been collected, as a result of the project.

"This annual project ensures that businesses are up to date on their legal filings with my office, and that they are making the payments that they owe to the people of Massachusetts,"" Galvin said.

Additional revenue from the project is expected to be collected in 2024, as many of the 46,000 entities that were dissolved through the project, including LLCs seek to be reinstated.

As required by the Massachusetts Constitution, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has transmitted seven potential 2024 ballot questions to the Massachusetts Legislature, for its consideration. Galvin expects to send three more ballot questions this month.

Ballot question proponents needed to file at least 74,574 signatures with Galvin’s Elections Division by the first week of December in order for their question to be certified. In letters sent to the Clerk of the House of Representatives, Galvin certified that the following initiatives had received a sufficient number of certified signatures to advance toward the November ballot:

• A Law Expressly Authorizing the Auditor to Audit the Legislature: 94,404
• A Law Requiring that Districts Certify that Students Have Mastered the Skills, Competencies and Knowledge of the State Standards as a Replacement for the MCAS Graduation Requirement: 101,511
• An Act Giving Transportation Network Drivers the Option to Form a Union and Bargain Collectively: 83,788
• A Law Requiring the Full Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers with Tips on Top: 84,804
• An Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to the Regulation and Taxation of Natural Psychedelic Substance: 96,277
• Initiative Petition for a Law Defining and Regulating the Relationship Between Network Companies and App-Based Drivers for Purposes of the General and Special Laws: 91,666
• Initiative Petition for a Law Establishing that App-Based Drivers are not Employees, and Network Companies are not Employers, for Certain Purposes of the General Laws: 90,112

Three additional petitions relating to the relationship between app-based drivers and network companies are expected to be transmitted to the Legislature later in January, after Elections Division staff has completed processing and certifying the petitions.

In total, ten potential ballot questions will be considered by the Legislature, which has until April 30, 2024 to pass the proposed measures. If the Legislature fails to pass an initiative, petitioners may begin gathering an additional 12,429 voter signatures to place the question on the November ballot.

Ballot questions for the November ballot will be finalized in July of this year, after the July 3, 2024 deadline for submit additional petitions to Galvin’s office.

A special election was called today in the 6th Worcester State Representative District, to fill the vacancy caused by the recent resignation of Peter J. Durant. The election will be held on March 5, 2024, alongside the Massachusetts Presidential Primaries, while the special state primary will be held on February 6, 2024.

Candidates will have until December 26, 2023 to collect signatures on nomination papers and submit them to local election officials for certification. Certified nomination papers must be submitted while the last day to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division by January 2, 2024. Nominations for the House of Representatives require a minimum of 150 certified signatures.

Candidates may obtain nomination papers in the Elections Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office, in Room 1705 of One Ashburton Place, in Boston.

Nomination papers will also soon be available in town clerk’s offices in Dudley, Charlton, Southbridge, and Spencer.

The 6th Worcester District includes the towns of Dudley and Southbridge, as well as precincts 1, 2, 3, and 4A in Charlton and precinct 1 of Spencer.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is reminding ballot question campaigns that today, December 6, is the final day to submit certified ballot question petitions to his Elections Division. By 5 p.m., petitioners must submit at least 74,574 certified signatures of registered voters, in order to advance their proposed question toward the November 2024 ballot.

Under the Massachusetts Constitution, the number of signatures required for a ballot question to advance to the next step in the process is the equivalent of 3% of the voter turnout in the last gubernatorial election.

Initiatives expected to be filed by today include those relating to: auditing the state legislature; MCAS graduation requirements; options for unionization of network drivers; minimum wage for tipped workers; voter identification; regulation of psychedelic substances; and the relationship between app-based drivers and network companies.

Galvin’s Elections Division staff will be required to examine each petition sheet filed for any disqualifying marks before tallying the certified signatures by county. No more than 25% of the total number of signatures required can come from one county.

In total, Galvin expects 11 petitions to be filed, including 5 different versions of a proposed law relating to the relationship between app-based drivers and network companies. While the review process typically takes approximately 3 weeks to complete, Galvin expects this year’s review will be longer, due to the unusually high number of petitions being filed.

In the first week of January, petitions that are determined to contain enough signatures must be sent to the Legislature for consideration. If the Legislature does not pass an initiative petition by May, petitioners will be able to pursue a final round of signature-gathering to place their question on the ballot in 2024.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has fined Webull Financial LLC $500,000 and ordered significant compliance changes necessary to protect investors. Webull has admitted that the company did not have a dedicated compliance program, and at times had only one employee devoted to handling compliance matters for hundreds of thousands of brokerage accounts.

According to a consent order Webull entered into with Galvin’s Securities Division, the online broker-dealer has experienced exponential growth since its launch 2018, but has failed to dedicate sufficient resources to compliance. With more than 6 million brokerage accounts total and more than 100,000 in Massachusetts, Webull did not have the necessary staff or supervisory procedures in place to field the over 40,000 communications received from Massachusetts customers in a 4-year period.

Rather than having a designated compliance department, Webull relied heavily and unreasonably on a third-party compliance consultant and compliance counsel. The written supervisory procedures prepared by the outside counsel were described by one Webull employee as inapplicable to the business, according to the consent order.

Webull’s employee training was also inadequate, as the company failed to provide any formal training to customer service personnel through June of 2020. Written annual training on identifying complaints instructed staff to “feel” whether a communication from a customer was a complaint, rather than providing objective criteria by which employees could identify complaints.

Along with the fine, the consent order requires Webull to retain independent third-party consultants to conduct a comprehensive review of its policies and written procedures. Webull must also conduct an annual compliance review for the next 3 years, which must be filed with the Securities Division.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is urging voters who have not returned their mail-in ballots for next Tuesday’s elections to return those ballots by hand before polls close.

Ballots should not be returned by mail at this late stage, Galvin warned, as mail can take up to 7 days to be delivered. Ballots in next Tuesday’s elections must be received by the close of polls in order to be counted.

Tuesday, November 7 is City Election Day in Massachusetts, when all cities and certain towns hold biennial municipal elections. A special state election in the Worcester & Hampshire State Senate District is also being held on Tuesday.

“Unlike last November, when ballots postmarked by Election Day had three additional days to arrive in the mail, the law requires mail ballots in local elections and special elections to arrive on Election Day,” Galvin said.

Galvin is also reminding voters that city election polling hours vary by community, which means that ballot return deadlines on Election Day will also vary.

Voters may return their ballots by hand to their local election office or to a drop box provided by their city or town for ballot return. Ballot return locations and polling hours for upcoming elections may be found at www.VoteInMA.com.

Any voter who chooses not to return a mail ballot may vote in person at their polling place on Election Day.

Citing an uptick in sophisticated scams that rob seniors and other vulnerable individuals of their hard-earned savings, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin testified today on the need for legislative action that would allow financial institutions to intervene when they suspect certain customers are being exploited.

Appearing before the state legislature’s Joint Committee on Financial Services this morning, Galvin was accompanied by the son of a Pembroke woman who was swindled out of $9,500 last winter. Duane Wanty testified that his 93-year old mother believed her granddaughter to have been in a car accident and in need of bail money, after the grandmother received a tearful phone call from someone who sounded like Mr. Wanty’s niece.

The type of scam that Mrs. Wanty fell victim to is known as a “Grandparent Scam,” according to Galvin. The perpetrators of these scams will contact victims by phone, and pretend to be a family member in urgent need of money. Usually, the scammer asks the victim to keep the call a secret, so that the victim’s actual family do not have the opportunity to intervene.

To assist vulnerable residents who may be targeted by these scams, Galvin has proposed a new law that would allow banks to put a pause on transactions that they suspect to be exploitative. Currently, a bank teller would not have the authority to put a hold on such large cash withdrawals, even if it is obvious that the person making the withdrawal is the victim of fraud.

Galvin’s bill would allow a brief hold to be placed on suspicious transactions, to allow time for family members or other advocates to be contacted. Galvin noted in his testimony that scammers are often waiting outside the bank to collect money from their victims.

“Once they are separated from their money, it’s virtually untraceable,” Galvin said in his testimony. “We need to empower people with the opportunity to make sure they can do something about this.”

“If this was somebody holding people up in the street, we’d do something immediately. This is no different,” he continued.

In response to what he has referred to as a “half-hearted and lackadaisical attitude” toward safeguarding retail investors, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has fined Fidelity Brokerage Services $750,000 over the company’s past practice of rubber-stamping options trading applications.

A consent order filed by Galvin’s Securities Division notes that Fidelity has taken steps to improve its application review systems and online applications since the January of 2022, when the Division filed a complaint alleging that the company failed to properly vet customers who applied to be approved for options and margin trading.

At the time the complaint was filed, the Division alleged that Fidelity’s application review system allowed customers to submit multiple applications, each time with the information altered until the customers met the requirements to be approved. The complaint detailed examples of repeated applications with inflated financials, investment experience, and employment information that Fidelity reviewers failed to notice, despite already having contrary information in the Fidelity system.

Options trading is considered to be particularly risky due to options’ relative complexity, their lack of liquidity, and the fact that just breaking even requires one to accurately predict short-term price fluctuations in the underlying asset. Brokers determine an investor’s suitability for different levels of options trading based on their income, net worth, trading experience, and general knowledge of investing.

In addition to the $750,000 administrative fine paid to the Commonwealth, Fidelity Brokerage Services has been censured by the Securities Division. Fidelity must also submit a report to the Division on the findings of an internal review of policies and procedures, including the improvements that have been made to compliance training.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin, who administers the Massachusetts Address Confidentiality Program (ACP), visited Springfield today to announce the creation of a new grant program for providers of services to victims of domestic violence.

“It is clear to anyone who has been following the news over the past year that we are facing a statewide crisis of domestic violence,” Galvin said. “This new grant program is targeted at increasing awareness, not only of this upsurge in violence, but also of the services available to those trying to leave an abusive situation.”

Included in the budget signed by Governor Healey earlier this month was funding for a statewide Domestic Violence Service Provider Grant Program, which will be administered by Galvin through the ACP. The $100,000 program will provide funding to organizations helping to spread awareness of the many services already available to those who have been abused, sexually assaulted, or stalked.

Galvin hopes that the grant program will be successful in reaching those who fear they will be without help or resources if they try to leave a violent situation. He also hopes to increase overall participation in ACP, to help keep those who have already left abusive relationships safe.

“Our program helps hundreds of people every year. While I wish the program were unnecessary, the fact remains that there are many more people in Massachusetts who would could be helped, if only they knew more about these services,” Galvin said.

The Massachusetts Address Confidentiality Program protects relocated survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking by providing them with a new mailing address to use with state and municipal agencies. The program assists with keeping participants’ true address out of public records and facilitates the safe delivery of mail to program participants.

Officially kicking off the 2024 Presidential Primary season, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has released nomination papers for those who wish to run for political party ward, town, or state committee positions. These party positions, elected at the Massachusetts Presidential Primaries, will be listed below candidates for president on the ballots next March.

Every political party in Massachusetts is run at the state level by a state committee, which includes a total of 80 elected members from the state’s 40 state senate districts. Every district elects one man and one woman to represent its party members on the state committee. Candidates for state committee man or woman must gather at least 50 certified signatures from voters of the district in order to qualify for the ballot.

In cities and towns, political party committees are elected at the ward or town level. While the number of committee members varies by community, all candidates for ward or town committee must collect at least 5 certified signatures from their ward or town to have their names printed on the ballot.

The deadline for party committee candidates to submit nomination papers to their local election offices for certification is Friday, November 10. Those nomination papers must then be filed with the State Elections Division by Tuesday, November 21.

The Massachusetts Presidential Primaries will be held on March 5, 2024, on what is commonly known as Super Tuesday. Massachusetts will hold 3 party primaries that day: Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian.

Candidates for state committee may pick up nomination papers at Galvin’s offices in Boston, Springfield and Fall River. Papers will also be available at local election offices in: Barnstable, Brockton, Chelmsford, Fitchburg, Framingham, Gardner, Haverhill, Nantucket, Northampton, Peabody, Pittsfield, Tisbury, and Worcester.

Nomination papers for ward and town committees are available from the Elections Division in Boston and at each local election office in Massachusetts.

Additional information may be found at www.sec.state.ma.us/elections or by calling 1-800-462-VOTE (8683).

Concerned about the growing and potentially unchecked use of artificial intelligence in the securities industry, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has directed his Securities Division to investigate the ways in which firms may be using the technology in their interactions with Massachusetts investors.

Yesterday, Galvin’s Securities Division sent letters of inquiry to a number of registered and unregistered firms known to be using or developing the use of AI for business purposes in the securities industry. The letters seek information on the manner in which the entities may be using artificial intelligence in their business and activities.

Of particular interest to Galvin are the supervisory procedures that firms have in place regarding artificial intelligence, and whether those systems ensure that the AI will not put the interests of the firm ahead of the interests of their clients. For those firms that have already deployed AI, the Division will also be evaluating the disclosure processes in place.

“State securities regulators have an important role to play when it comes to AI and its impact on main street investors,” Galvin said today. “If deployed without the guardrails necessary to ensure proper disclosure and consideration of conflicts, I am concerned that this technology could result in harm to investors.”

In addition to making inquiries relating to disclosure and supervisory procedures, the Securities Division is questioning select firms about any marketing materials provided to investors that may have been created using AI.

Firms included in the investigatory sweep have been given until August 16, 2023 to respond to the Division’s inquiries.

Leading a multi-state effort to crack down on brokers who overcharge investors, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has ordered Raymond James & Associates, Inc. and Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. to return $8.25 million, plus interest, to customers who were charged unreasonably high fees. Galvin also ordered Raymond James to pay a total of $4.2 million in fines and penalties to the states involved.

In coordination with a North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) working group that included financial regulators in Alabama, California, Illinois, Montana, and Washington, Galvin’s Securities Division led an investigation looking into Raymond James’ practice of nickel-and-diming customers. The investigation showed that the broker-dealer charged unreasonable commissions on more than 270,000 equity transactions over the past 5 years.

According to the settlement agreement secured by Galvin’s office, Raymond James overcharged customers by applying a $75 minimum commission charge, regardless of the reasonableness of the commission. Because the broker-dealer failed to have appropriate systems in place to stop overcharging of customers, many paid over 90% of the principal amount.

“This isn’t the first time Raymond James has overcharged customers,” Galvin said today. “In 2011, they paid more than $2 million in restitution and fines for conduct that was identical to this. It is clear from these actions that there is a continuing need for state regulators to work together to protect the best interests of investors.”

Among the requirements of the settlement Raymond James has entered into with state securities regulators is an offer of restitution to customers who were charged more than 5% commissions on equity transactions in the past five years. The broker-dealer must also change its supervisory and compliance apparatus concerning brokerage commissions.

Affected Massachusetts customers will be entitled to a total of more than $185,000, plus 6% interest. The Commonwealth will also receive $100,000 in the form of an administrative fine.

Secretary Galvin has extended his thanks and appreciation to the state securities regulators in the 5 other states that participated in the investigation.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin announced today that his office will be sponsoring opportunities for visitors to the Boston area to learn about the history of the United States on the 4th of July.

Galvin, who runs the Massachusetts State Archives and Commonwealth Museum, will keep the museum open for visitors on the Fourth. The Commonwealth Museum features an original copy of the Declaration of Independence, signed by John Hancock, which visitors will be able to view from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

In addition to the Declaration of Independence, visitors to the Commonwealth Museum will also be able to see the Commonwealth’s copy of the Bill of Rights; the Massachusetts Constitution, written by John Adams; and letters from founding fathers John Hancock, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton.

In his role as Chair of the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Galvin will also be funding tours at the Church of the Presidents in Quincy. The Historical Commission provides funding for tours throughout the summer of the church’s Adams Family Crypt. Special 4th of July tours will be offered from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The Church of the Presidents, officially known as United First Parish Church, is the burial place of our second and sixth presidents. President John Adams is entombed in the crypt, alongside and his wife, First Lady Abigail Adams. President John Quincy Adams and his wife, First Lady Louisa Catherine Adams are also laid to rest in the family crypt.

“This 4th of July marks the 197th anniversary of the death of President John Adams and his political rival, Thomas Jefferson, who both passed away on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration,” Galvin said. “History buffs can come see documents written by both of these men, go on to pay their respect to the Adams family, and then enjoy the fireworks and festivities later in the day.”

The Commonwealth Museum is located on Columbia Point in Dorchester, at 220 Morrissey Blvd. Parking at the museum is free of charge.

The Church of the Presidents is located at 1306 Hancock Street in Quincy. Additional information is available at www.ufpc.org.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has ordered Snows Acquisition, LLC, the proprietor of Barts and Snows Ice Cream Co., to return $60,000 to investors who were sold unregistered percentage interests in the financially distressed company, by its founder and manager, Thomas K. Schmidt.

In addition to the partial rescission that must be provided to investors, Galvin has further ordered the company to pay an administrative fine of $50,000 over the violations of state laws that occurred when Schmidt sold unregistered securities over a three-year period.

The owner and distributer of local ice cream brands Barts Ice Cream and Snow’s Premium Ice Cream, Snows Acquisition has admitted to the facts set forth in a consent order filed by Galvin’s Securities Division. The ice cream, previously known as Snows Nice Cream, is sold at grocery stores throughout New England and at the company’s “Scoop Shop” in Greenfield.

According to the consent order, after purchasing the company in 2016, Schmidt sold $225,000 in “percentage interests” in the business to individuals he identified as family and friends. Schmidt was not licensed to sell securities in Massachusetts, nor were any of the percentage interests registered with the Securities Division.

Schmidt has also admitted to using the company’s business account to write nearly $25,000 in checks to himself during the time in which the unregistered securities were being sold, claiming that the money was compensation for acting as the business’s manager.

“I strongly encourage anyone considering an investment to contact my Securities Division and check on its legitimacy, even if the person selling the investment is someone they know personally,” Galvin said today. “Unfortunately, due to the financial situation of this business, these investors will be able to recoup only a portion of the money they invested.”

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has fined Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc. $2.5 million, after the broker-dealer ignored a series of red flags that warned that elderly Massachusetts residents, non-profit organizations, and churches were being charged excessive and unauthorized fees, due to the actions of one of its agents.

Along with the $2.5 million fine, Stifel will also be required to pay more than $700,000 in restitution to affected Massachusetts customers, as part of a consent order the broker-dealer has entered into with Galvin’s Securities Division.

According to the consent order, former Stifel broker-dealer agent Joseph Crespi subjected many of his clients to predatory sales practices over several years, leading to higher commission sales for himself and his employer. Despite repeated warnings by Crespi’s own branch manager, Stifel failed for years to discipline Crespi or take any meaningful actions to correct his behavior.

Internal Stifel communications examined by the Securities Division showed that the broker-dealer was well aware of Crespi’s questionable trade practices, with one Stifel employee remarking that Crespi would continue to attempt to violate certain rules, as “spots of a leopard do not change.”

The consent order details numerous times that Crespi was suspected of making trades not authorized by clients, including at least one instance that involved a trade made in a deceased client’s account. Crespi took steps to attempt to disguise his actions, though his branch manager and other internal systems repeatedly flagged his transactions for review. Nonetheless, Stifel allowed the misconduct to continue for more than 3 years before terminating the agent.

Beyond Crespi’s actions, the Division’s investigation also uncovered wide-ranging harm to Massachusetts customers. In particular, the investigation identified multiple instances of Stifel employees using personal cell phones to conduct business and distributing retail communications in violation of firm and regulatory requirements.

The consent order, which was filed over the weekend, is the third in a series of enforcement actions the Securities Division has taken against Stifel over the past five years. The Missouri-based broker-dealer has previously been ordered to pay fines totaling $400,000 and provide restitution to Massachusetts customers, stemming from consent orders filed in 2018 and 2021.

“As the size of this fine illustrates, I will not tolerate repeated rule-breaking by firms that enact toothless compliance and supervisory systems, while placing their own bottom line above investor protection,” Galvin said today. “This firm failed its customers when it dragged its feet for years, avoiding taking meaningful action to protect their best interests.”

In addition to the fine and restitution for Crespi’s clients required by the consent order, Stifel has also agreed to provide restitution for Massachusetts customers who were charged commissions on equity transactions in excess of 5%. Stifel management has further been ordered to certify changes to its supervisory and compliance apparatus, concerting brokerage sales practices.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has ordered a former Massachusetts broker-dealer agent and investment adviser representative to return more than $250,000 in funds to a client’s account, after the man used a series of forged checks to steal the money the client had invested.

After receiving a complaint from the victim, Galvin’s Securities Division opened an investigation into Nick Palky, a former Woburn resident who has also previously been known as Nikhil Palkhiwala. Palky had at times been registered as a broker-dealer agent between 1987 and 2015, most recently with the now-defunct Investors Capital Corporation. In the course of the investigation, Palky admitted to stealing nearly $250,000 from his client, over a period of several months in 2016.

According to a consent order filed by the Securities Division this week, after misappropriating his client’s funds, Palky moved from Massachusetts to California, where he has lived off the stolen money.

“In 2018, Palky moved to Simi Valley, California where he purchased a home in cash. Since moving to California, Palky has had no sources of income. Instead, Palky uses the Client’s funds and any associated investment gains from these funds to pay for all his basic living expenses,” the consent order states.

Palky was able to misappropriate his client’s investments through forgery, after he recommended to the client that she liquidate her money market funds, according to the consent order. Palky then made regular withdrawals from the woman’s account, without her knowledge or authorization, using a checkbook he had obtained by forging the client’s signature. By repeatedly forging checks under his customer’s name, Palky was able to transfer the customer’s money to his own personal account.

The consent order further states that Palky attempted to mislead the client about the status of her accounts when she asked to have the funds transferred to separately managed accounts. Instead, Palky refused to do so, and pressured the client to allow him to retain management of her funds, though he was no longer registered in the securities industry.

With the consent order, Palky has agreed to return all of the stolen funds, with interest, to the victim’s accounts. Galvin has also ordered Palky to pay a $100,000 administrative fine to the commonwealth, and has banned him from any future registration in the securities industry in Massachusetts.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is reminding property owners that the deadline to apply for a property tax abatement in most communities is next Wednesday, February 1.

February 1 is the deadline for 3rd quarter property tax payments in more than 80% of the cities and towns in Massachusetts. It is also the last day to file for an abatement in those communities. If a homeowner believes that the description of their property is inaccurate and over-assessed, an abatement will be the only remedy to reduce their property tax bill.

An applicant whose request for an abatement is denied may appeal to the State Appellate Tax Board. Guidance available from Secretary Galvin’s Citizen Information Service includes tips for homeowners to ensure they do not lose their right to appeal by missing key deadlines.

Abatement and property tax exemption forms are available at all municipal assessors’ offices. Exemptions are also available in many communities for certain elderly homeowners, the blind, disabled veterans, minor children of a deceased parent, or minor children of police or firefighters killed in the line of duty.

Homeowners may find more information at www.sec.state.ma.us/cis. Those who need assistance may call the Citizen Information Service at 1-800-392-6090 for additional resources.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is has announced that the Massachusetts Historical Commission has allocated $400,000 of state historic rehabilitation tax credits to New Bedford’s Zeiterion Theater.

“The Commonwealth’s investment in the historic Zeiterion Theater will ensure that people will be able to admire and enjoy this historic venue for years to come,” Galvin said today.

The Zeiterion Theater is listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places as a contributing element to the Central New Bedford Historic District. It is the only vaudeville theater remaining in New Bedford.

Built in 1923 in a variation of the Federal Revival Style, the building has been home to the theater, as well as a travel agency and furniture store, over the years. The Zeiterion Theater rehabilitation project is intended to improve the theater-going experience with patron amenities and accessibility improvements, along with restoration of the theater and marquee. The project will bring the historic venue up to modern standards, while maintaining and restoring the historic lobby, exterior storefronts, and doors. Existing modern windows on the upper levels will be replaced with windows that replicated the historic windows that were removed years ago, bringing the theater back to historic appearance.

The Massachusetts Rehabilitation Tax Credit program is administered by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Under the program, certified rehabilitation projects on income-producing properties are eligible to receive up to 20% of the cost of certified rehabilitation expenditures in state tax credits. Due to an annual cap, selection criteria ensure the funds are distributed to the projects that provide the most public benefit.

The Massachusetts Historical Commission is the office of the State Historic Preservation Officer and State Archaeologist. It was established in 1963 to identify, evaluate, and protect important historical and archaeological assets of the Commonwealth. Additional information about the Commission’s programs is available at www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc.

As many Massachusetts residents prepared for the upcoming holidays, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin joined Norfolk DA Michael W. Morrissey and Middlesex DA Marian T. Ryan at the State House yesterday, for an event highlighting resources available to those experiencing domestic violence and mental health crises.

Galvin, Morrissey, and Ryan were joined at the event by Danna Mauch, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Association of Mental Health, as well as advocates for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Each speaker highlighted different resources available to residents who are struggling over the holidays and find themselves in need of urgent assistance. Mauch spoke about the impact on mental health that the holiday season can have, while DA Ryan urged those experiencing thoughts of suicide to call 988, the 24-hour national mental health hotline.

Stephanie Brown, the CEO of domestic violence program Casa Myrna, spoke of the dangers of holiday gatherings with families for those affected by domestic violence or sexual assault. She urged those who do not feel safe in their relationship to contact the Commonwealth’s domestic violence hotline, Safelink, at 1-877-785-2020.

District Attorney Morrissey discussed the additional stress that the holiday season can bring, and the impact of that stress and anxiety on those struggling with addiction. He urged those experiencing addiction, and their family members, to make use of the Massachusetts Substance Use Hotline at 800-327-5050.

Galvin, who opened the event at the State House and introduced each speaker, highlighted his office’s Address Confidentiality Program, which is available to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The Address Confidentiality Program provides relocation assistance and confidential addresses that survivors can use to hide their location from abusers. The Address Confidentiality Program may be reached at 1-866-SAFE-ADD (866-723-233).

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has charged a Randolph couple who are alleged to have preyed upon members of the local Haitian community throughout the pandemic by operating a Ponzi scheme that resulted in the loss of substantially all of the more than $5 million raised through their scheme.

Galvin’s Securities Division today filed an administrative complaint against Milendophe Duperier and Vanessa Joseph, both of Randolph, and their associated companies. Duperier, the son of a pastor at a local Haitian church, is alleged to have conspired with Joseph, his fiancée, to keep the scheme afloat for more than two and a half years.

According to the complaint, Duperier and Joseph solicited millions of dollars from approximately forty individuals, including friends, family members, and congregants of their churches. The respondents also amassed more than a million dollars from the federal government, in the form of PPP and SBA loans, which were not used for their intended purpose.

Duperier and Joseph are alleged to have made outlandish claims to prospective investors, including that they had discovered a foolproof method to achieve profits trading options in both bear and bull markets, though neither respondent had any experience or formal training in investing. Instead, Duperier and Joseph are said to have attempted to educate themselves about options trading through YouTube videos and other online resources.

The complaint details how Duperier and Joseph sold unregistered promissory notes to investors, promising exorbitant interest rates of 60% per annum, paid monthly. Funds raised through the sale of the unregistered notes were purportedly to be used to fund Duperier and Joseph’s business ventures, including a brokerage firm, a property management company, and a social media consultant company.

In reality, according to the complaint, Duperier and Joseph instead used the corporate entities organized for those purposes primarily to defraud the federal government out of nearly $1.5 million in pandemic-related funds and federally-sourced SBA loans, which they used to make payments to investors, repay personal debts, and purchase personal property and real estate.

“When new investments were not enough to keep pace with interest owed, Duperier and Joseph began defrauding the federal government as well by applying for and receiving Payroll Protection Program (“PPP”) and other Small Business Administration (“SBA”) loans,” the complaint states. “When the availability of SBA loans and PPP loans disappeared, Duperier and Joseph turned to check washing schemes, altering the payee field on otherwise legitimately issued checks to their own names and distributing the funds to investors.”

While Duperier and Joseph used investor and taxpayer funds to make interest payments in an attempt to cover up their scheme, they were also using those funds to finance their own lifestyles. The complaint alleges that Duperier and Joseph used the money to refinance existing mortgages and purchase new real estate properties, purchase expensive cars, and pay general personal expenses.

“Duperier and Joseph used investor funds to purchase or make loan payments on multiple recent model year luxury cars, including Tesla Models X and S, a Mercedes Benz S Class, and an Infiniti QX30,” the complaint states.

With the filing of the complaint, the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Securities Division is seeking an order fining Duperier and Joseph and requiring them to pay restitution to compensate investors for their wrongdoing. In addition, the Division is seeking an immediate temporary cease and desist order, to stop the ongoing fraud. To date, Duperier and Joseph have failed to return even investors’ principal investments.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin this morning signed the final certification of the new constitutional amendment known as the “Fair Share Amendment.” The amendment, which will impose a surtax on income over $1 million, will now be known as Article CXXI of the Articles of Amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution.

With the signing the amendment, Galvin is also calling upon the Legislature to establish an education trust fund to assure voters that the funds from this new tax will be guaranteed to go toward education. The text of the amendment, as voted on by the people in the November 8 State Election, promised that part of the revenue raised by the new tax would be used for public education, “subject to appropriation by the state Legislature.”

Galvin is further proposing that the incoming Legislature amend the current law to define “annual taxable income” as excluding a one-time profit on the sale of a homeowner’s primary residence, if the homeowner is elderly and income-limited. Galvin, how administers most registries of deeds in the Commonwealth expressed concern for homeowners who might be taxed on a one-time windfall on the sale of their largest asset, and worry that the new tax might discourage older homeowners from selling.

“With the results of the election now certified, this constitutional amendment will go into effect immediately on the first of day of the new year,” Galvin said. “Immediate action will be needed to assist elderly homeowners who may have been intending to sell their current primary residence, in an effort to downsize and fund their retirement.”

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin today signed the paperwork necessary to codify Question #2, “A Law Relative to Regulation of Dental Insurance,” which was approved by the voters at the 2022 State Election.

Placed on the November 8 ballot by petition of the voters, Question #2 was the most popular binding ballot question in that election, receiving 71.6% of the votes cast.

With this final official step in the initiative petition process, Question #2 will now be known as Chapter 287 of the Acts of 2022. As written, the law will take effect on January 1, 2024.

Once in place, the new law would regulate dental insurance rates, requiring companies to spend at least 83% of premiums on member dental expenses and quality improvements, instead of administrative expenses. The first of its kind, the statute is considered a model for dentist groups nationwide.

At the signing of the law, Secretary Galvin was joined by representatives of the Massachusetts Dental Society.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin today ordered hand recounts to be conducted in the Second Essex and First Middlesex State Representative Districts. The order, sent to local election officials in the districts, requires recounts to be completed no later than Saturday, December 10.

The official election results in both districts, as certified by Governor Baker and the Governor’s Council today, show each of the leading candidates ahead by less than 0.5%. Unlike a precinct-level recount, which requires no specific margin, a districtwide recount can only be ordered if the difference between the top candidates is within 0.5%.

In the Second Essex District, certified results show Republican Leonard Mirra with 11,754 votes, while Democrat Kristin E. Kassner received 11,744. The 10-vote difference represents 0.04% of the 23,509 votes cast in the race.

In the First Middlesex District, certified results show Democrat Margaret R. Scarsdale receiving 9,384 votes to Republican Andrew James Shepherd’s 9,367. The 17-vote difference makes up 0.08% of the 19,910 votes cast in that race.

Candidates trailing in both districts submitted recount petitions prior to the November 23 deadline to request a districtwide recount. Under state law, the recount could not officially be ordered until the results had been certified by the Governor and Council at today’s meeting of the Governor’s Council.

Local election officials in the districts will schedule hand recounts to be held in each town in the district, before each town’s board of registrars. All recounts are open to public observation. Towns must provide at least 3 days’ notice to each candidate prior to the date of the scheduled recount.

With election results now certified by each of the 351 local election officials in Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has announced that the official number of voters casting ballots in the November 8, 2022 Massachusetts State Election was 2,508,298.

In terms of total votes cast in a midterm election in Massachusetts, the number is exceeded only by the 2018 State Election, when 2,752,665 voters participated. As a percentage of the number of registered voters in Massachusetts, the voter turnout for the midterm election was 51.4%.

“While we unfortunately didn’t set a new record this year, I am pleased to report that the overall voter turnout did my own exceed expectations for this election,” Galvin said. “I’m delighted to have been wrong.”

Prior to Election Day, Galvin had projected turnout in the election would be around 2.2 million, based on factors such as the rate of mail ballot returns, the number of voters casting ballots during early voting, and the general interest of voters. Final turnout numbers exceeded that projection by 300,000, due in part to a larger than expected turnout on Election Day.

In total, 1,382,454 voters cast ballots at polling places on Election Day, which represents 55.1% of all ballots cast in the November 8 State Election. Massachusetts has not seen a majority of ballots cast on Election Day since the 2020 Presidential Primary, the last statewide election held before the adoption of no-excuse voting by mail.

While most chose to vote in person on Election Day, voting by mail continues to be a popular option among Massachusetts voters. In total, 937,669 ballots, or 37.4% of the overall voter turnout, were cast by mail. As mail-in voting gains in popularity, turnout during in-person early voting has waned, with only 188,175, or 7.5% of voters casting ballots choosing that option for the November 8 State Election.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has charged a North Shore business owner and his former associate with violations of state securities laws, over an investment scheme that left Massachusetts investors without millions of dollars they were owed by Ipswich floor-plan lending company Shamrock Finance, LLC.

According to an administrative complaint filed by Galvin’s Securities Division this week, the actions of Shamrock Finance manager, Kevin B. Devaney of Newburyport, and CPA Keith Harris of Seabrook, NH resulted in losses of approximately $9 million for Massachusetts investors.

The complaint states that investors in Shamrock Finance were sold promissory notes by Devaney and Harris with the guarantee of 12% annual interest payments and assurances that proceeds would not be used to pay for Shamrock’s operating expenses.

Funds raised through the promissory notes were intended to be used to assist auto dealerships with purchasing vehicles, to which Shamrock Finance would hold the titles as collateral until the dealerships sold the vehicles, the complaint explains. At the time of a sale, Shamrock Finance would receive the funds loaned to the dealership, with interest.

While overseeing Shamrock’s financials, Harris is alleged to have used his position to fraudulently funnel $200,000 in funds to a relative for the purchase of a condominium. Harris is also alleged to have used Shamrock funds to provide himself with a $35,000 “loan” that was never repaid, for his own personal expenses.

The complaint further states that Harris’s actions led to dire financial straits for Shamrock, due to over-issuance of debt that Harris encouraged, which was disguised by his falsified accounting, understatement of expenses, and overstating of net income.

The full extent of Harris’s actions was discovered only after Devaney hired a new CFO, who recommended Shamrock declare bankruptcy. During bankruptcy proceedings, Harris invoked his Fifth Amendment rights and refused to produce any documents requested by the bankruptcy examiner.

With the filing of the administrative complaint, Galvin’s Securities Division is seeking restitution for as many as 57 Massachusetts residents who purchased notes, relying on Harris and Devaney’s statements that they were secured by Shamrock’s assets. The Division is also seeking to have both respondents barred from selling securities in Massachusetts and the imposition of an administrative fine.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is reminding Massachusetts veterans to take advantage of the 55-page booklet his office publishes on laws applying to veterans and the benefits that are available to them.

“As we honor veterans and their service to our country, we must also ensure they are receiving the support and benefits our country and commonwealth owe to them,” Galvin said today.

The publication, “Veterans’ Laws and Benefits,” includes information on education, housing and employment benefits, property tax exemptions, outreach and counseling resources, and veteran bonuses and annuities. Veterans may also find information and resources available to those who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, as well as a listing of Veterans’ Service Officers by municipality.

It is estimated that there are more than 300,000 veterans in Massachusetts, with around 15% of those veterans having served since September 2001. Approximately one third of Massachusetts veterans are living with a disability.

Copies of “Veterans’ Laws and Benefits” may be requested by calling Secretary Galvin’s office at 1-800-392-6090. The publication is also available at www.sec.state.ma.us/cis

The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division is reminding voters that Friday, November 4, is the final day of in-person early voting for the November 8 State Election.

With many cities and towns holding limited or no Friday hours, voters are strongly encouraged to confirm the early voting schedule in their community at www.VoteInMA.com before going to vote on November 4.

While no-excuse early voting ends tomorrow, in-person absentee voting will be available until 12 p.m. on Monday, November 7, to those who qualify. Voters who find that they will be out of town on Election Day may arrange with their local election official to vote in their local election office until noon on the day before an election.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. on November 8, for all voters who have not already cast a ballot by Election Day.