Securities Lawyers Blog
According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) advisor Daniel Levine (Levine), formerly associated with First Financial Equity Corporation (First Financial), in January 2019, was sanctioned and barred from the securities industry by FINRA over accusations of potentially selling unapproved products.
In January 2019 FINRA alleged that Levine consented to the sanctions and findings that he failed to provide FINRA with requested documents and information for the regulator’s investigation into allegations that he engaged in undisclosed outside business activities, solicited a senior firm customer to borrow funds for an outside business activity, and executed unauthorized trades.
In August 2018 Levine was discharged from First Financial due to FINRA’s inquiry into his activities. In July 2018, Levine was terminated from Morgan Stanley due to allegations concerning unapproved outside activity.
The providing of loans or selling of notes and other investments outside of a brokerage firm constitutes impermissible private securities transactions – a practice known in the industry as “selling away”.
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. However, even though when these incidents occur the brokerage firm claims ignorance of their advisor’s activities the firm is obligated under the FINRA rules to properly 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.
Levine entered the securities industry in 1997. From June 2013 through August 2018 Levine was was associated with Morgan Stanley. From July 2018 until August 2018 Levine was associated with First Financial out of the firm’s Greenwood Village, Colorado 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.