Waldron Loses SEC Registration, Closes

Waldron & Co., an Irvine brokerage firm accused of inflating the shares of troubled online retailer Shopping.com, has lost its regulatory registration and closed its doors. The National Assn. of Securities Dealers suspended the company’s registration last week after it failed to pay $350,000 in compensatory damages for allegedly artificially boosting the share price of the Corona del Mar-based company. Waldron’s offices in Irvine are empty, except for a court summons resting on a lone desk, filed by property landlords seeking unpaid rent. Waldron is owned by Aubry Perle Holdings. Three men--Cery Perle, Ed Harris and Jon Aubry--own stock in the holding company, whose address is Waldron’s now-vacant Irvine offices. Perle could not be reached for comment. Harris declined to comment. Aubry, contacted at a residence in Fort Worth, denied being involved with Waldron.