Wall Street Cop Stymied by Firm It Banned for 60,000% Fee Hike

Wall Street’s self-regulator tried to ban Alpine Securities Corp. from the industry after finding that it jacked up fees on customers by 60,000% and violated a cease-and-desist order 35,000 times.

But the Utah-based brokerage firm isn’t going quietly.

Alpine not only fought back against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s ruling, but won a court injunction keeping the company in business during an appeal that challenges the organization’s underlying power.

Alpine, which expects to argue its appeal early next year, claims Finra wields the power of a government agency but doesn’t operate with the same constitutional constraints and accountability. Since ...