Securities Lawyers Blog
The securities lawyers of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating customer complaints filed with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against broker Tracy Rae Turner (Turner). According to BrokerCheck records, Turner has been subject to at least 31 customer complaints, two employment separations for cause, one regulatory, and one financial among other claims during his 22 years of experience. The customer complaints against Turner alleges securities law violations that including unauthorized trading, fraud, breach of contract, negligence, and failure to supervise among other claims.
In a FINRA regulatory action against Turner in November 2016, the agency alleged that he offered and sold interests to investors totaling approximately $4.1 million without giving prior notice to and receiving prior written permission from his member firm. For successfully soliciting these investments, Turner received approximately $270,000 in compensation. A decision was rendered in April 2017 which resulted in barring Turner from FINRA association and fining him for $272, 879.04. The findings of the decision also alleged that Turner created a publically available offering memorandum to market sales of interest in private securities without providing a sound evaluation of investments and included false and misleading statements.
In June 2009, Turner was permitted to resign from his position at CapWest Securities, Inc. for conducting sales in states where he was not registered.
The last customer complaint filed against Turner was in November 2003 for the alleged breach of fiduciary duty, unsuitable investments, and churning from January 2001 to August 2001. The complaint settled for $25,000.00. Previous customer disputes against Turner alleged fraud, unsuitable recommendations, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligence.
Turner entered the securities industry in 1985 and is currently not registered with any securities firm. These are the firms that he was most recently associated with:
• Colorado Financial Service Corporation – Carlsbad, CA branch (1/2012 – 12/2014)
• Lighthouse Capital Corporation (2/2010 – 12/2011)
• Private Asset Group, Inc. (6/2009 – 2/2010)
All advisers have a fundamental responsibility to deal fairly with investors including making suitable investment recommendations. In order to make suitable recommendations the broker must have a reasonable basis for recommending the product or security based upon the broker’s investigation of the investments properties including its benefits, risks, tax consequences, and other relevant factors. In addition, the broker must also understand the customer’s specific investment objectives to determine whether or not the specific product or security being recommended is appropriate for the customer based upon their needs.
A brokerage firm owes a duty to all of its customers to properly monitor and supervise its employees. The duty to supervise is a critical component of the securities regulatory scheme. Regulatory authorities such as the SEC and FINRA have steadily heightened the supervisory obligations of brokerage firms in recent years. Supervisors have an obligation to respond vigorously to indications of irregularity, often times referred to as “red flags.” A supervisor cannot ignore or disregard red flags and must act decisively to detect and prevent improper activity.
The number of customer complaints against Turner is high relative to his peers. According to Investment News, only about 12% of financial advisors have any type of disclosure event on their records. Brokers must publicly disclose certain types of reportable events on their CRD including but not limited to customer complaints. In addition to disclosing client disputes brokers must divulge IRS tax liens, judgments, and criminal matters. However, FINRA’s records are not always complete according to a Wall Street Journal story that checked with 26 state regulators and found that at least 38,400 brokers had regulatory or financial red flags such as a personal bankruptcy that showed up in state records but not on BrokerCheck. More disturbing is the fact that 19,000 out of those 38,400 brokers had spotless BrokerCheck records.
The investment lawyers at Gana Weinstein LLP represent investors who have suffered investment losses due to allegations of wrongdoing. The majority of these claims may be brought in securities arbitration before FINRA. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.