Financial regulators fined Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox and his firm $15,000 in 2004 for mishandling investors’ funds in a housing deal, according to records filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Along with the fine, which was first reported by the Sacramento Bee, Cox was also censured by the National Assn. of Securities Dealers, which regulates the securities industry. The agency is now known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Records show that Cox did not admit to or deny the allegations at the time. He was fined $2,500 and his firm, Financial Equity Associates, was fined $12,500.

“These clerical errors are almost 30 years old — when John’s business was a tiny fraction of what it is now — and, as shown, involved no client losses or complaints at all,” Cox campaign spokesman Matt Shupe said in a statement released Wednesday. “They were simply technical violations of rules designed for broker dealers that are much larger than his company was, and that have whole compliance departments dedicated to complying with these rules.”

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