The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has canceled the registration of Mount Peak Securities Inc. as a broker-dealer due to serious violations of securities laws, including fake financial reports, use of dummy accounts, and forged client documents. This development helps protect investors and upholds integrity in the local capital market.
Regulators found the firm broke 12 provisions of the Securities Regulation Code. Its president, Wilster S. Gaweco, and official Marie Stephanie Gaweco also had their licenses revoked, and are permanently banned from working in the securities industry. Total penalties issued reached ₱17.25 million.
An investigation by the Capital Markets Integrity Corp. revealed major irregularities: Gaweco admitted using a dummy account under another person’s name for personal profit. The firm also traded without proper client authority, forged signatures, and falsified reports to hide that it failed to meet required capital levels and had no funds set aside for clients at certain points. Its back-office systems were also found to be deeply flawed and unsupervised.
Mount Peak was temporarily suspended in August 2025, as officials said keeping it open would harm the public and the stock exchange. The firm has appealed the decision, which is now under review by the full SEC commission.
