Securities Lawyers Blog
The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that advisor Benjamin Lowder (Lowder) has multiple client complaints concerning allegations that he engaged in the sales of private securities among other allegations. Lowder was also barred by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) concerning his private securities sales conduct. According to BrokerCheck records, Lowder was formerly registered with FINRA member firm MSI Financial Services, Inc. (MSI Financial). If you have been a victim of Lowder’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.
In October 2019 FINRA found that Lowder consented to the sanctions and a bar from them industry as well as to the entry of findings that he refused to appear for testimony before FINRA during the course of an investigation that began after investor civil lawsuits submitted by his former member firm. FINRA found that the civil lawsuits alleged unfair and deceptive trade practices and state securities fraud regarding investments in fictitious entities.
According to Lowder’s publicly disclosed records the he has no disclosed outside business activities.
Our law firm has significant experience bringing cases on behalf of defrauded victims when their advisors engage in receiving loans from clients or selling securities sales through OBAs. The sale of unapproved investment products – is a practice known in the industry as “selling away” – a serious violation of the securities laws. In the industry the term selling away refers to when a financial advisor solicits investments in companies, promissory notes, or other securities that are not pre-approved by the broker’s affiliated firm. Sometimes those investments have some legitimacy but often times these types of investments can end up being Ponzi schemes or the advisor can be engaging in the conversion of funds.
However, federal securities laws and the FINRA rules require firms to monitor and supervise its employees in order to detect and prevent brokers from offering investments in this fashion. In order to properly supervise their brokers each firm is required to have procedures in order to monitor the activities of each advisor’s activities and interaction with the public. Selling away misconduct often occurs where brokerage firms either fail to put in place a reasonable supervisory system or fail to actually implement that system. Supervisory failures allow brokers to engage in unsupervised misconduct that can include all manner improper conduct including selling away.
In cases of selling away the investor is unaware that the advisor’s investments are improper. In many of these cases the investor will not learn that the broker’s activities were wrongful until after the investment scheme is publicized, the broker is fired or charged by law enforcement, or stops returning client calls altogether.
Lowder entered the securities industry in 1998. From August 2000 until February 2017 Lowder was registered with MSI Financial out of the firm’s Charlotte, North Carolina office location.
Investors who have suffered losses are encouraged to contact us at (800) 810-4262 for consultation. Investors may be able recover their losses through securities arbitration. The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are experienced in representing investors in cases of selling away and brokerage firms failure to supervise their representatives. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.