ACAP and Gary Hume Were Fined and Suspended by FINRA

ACAP and Gary Hume were fined and suspended by FINRA for allowing some con artists to keep accounts at their brokerage firm. They contended they should not be punished for actions of con artists. The appeals court held that:

A) ​FINRA exceeded the level of punishment allowed under the statutory authority granted by Congress, so the punishment would not stand.
B) ​FINRA received SEC approval for the punishments, so they would stand.
C) ​FINRA received approval by an Administrative Law Judge of the SEC for the punishments, so they would stand.
D) ​FINRA failed to follow proper procedure to allow ACAP and Hume to potentially demonstrate innocence, so the punishment would not stand.
E) ​none of the other choices are correct.