Securities Lawyers Blog
The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that Broker Darren Ting (Ting) has been accused by investors of engaging in fraudulent misappropriation of their funds. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), it appears that Ting was employed by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC at the time of the activity. If you have been a victim of Ting’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on December 12, 2023.
Without admitting or denying the findings, Ting consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he exercised discretionary authority to effect trades in customer accounts without obtaining written authorization from the customers to exercise discretion and without his member firm having accepted the accounts as discretionary. The findings stated that although the customers understood that Ting was placing trades in the accounts, the customers had not provided prior written authorization for Ting to exercise discretion. The findings also stated that Ting caused his firm to maintain inaccurate books and records by mismarking solicited trades as unsolicited.
We specialize in representing victims of fraud when financial advisors take loans from clients or facilitate securities transactions through OBAs. The sale of unapproved investment products, fake investments that cover misappropriated funds, and other fraudulent behavior – 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. While a few of these investments might be valid, many end up as Ponzi schemes or involve advisors illegally converting client 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. To ensure proper supervision of brokers, firms must establish procedures for monitoring advisors’ actions and engagements 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.
Ting has been in the securities industry for more than 4 years. Ting has been registered as a Broker with J.P. Morgan Securities LLC since 2021.
Investors who have suffered losses are encouraged to contact us at (800) 810-4262 for consultation. At Gana Weinstein LLP, our attorneys are experienced representing investors who have suffered securities losses due to the mishandling of their accounts. Claims may be brought in securities arbitration before FINRA. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.
