Securities Lawyers Blog
According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) advisor Daniel Flores (Flores), formerly associated with Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. (Woodbury Financial) in Appleton, Wisconsin was terminated by his firm concerning allegations that Flores engaged in an unapproved financial transaction with a client. Thereafter in May 2018 a customer filed a complaint alleging that that Flores engaged in unauthorized and excessive trading. The claim is currently pending. In July 2018 FINRA sought documents and information from Flores which he refused to provide. Accordingly, Flores was barred from the industry for failing to respond to FINRA’s requests.
At this time, the claims against Flores are unclear as to the exact nature and extent of the activity. Flores has outside business disclosures including New Heights Insurance Services and Fox River Valley.
The allegations against Flores conform to 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. When advisors convert or misappropriate funds they often created businesses or other vehicles to serve as a cover for the theft 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.
Flores entered the securities industry in 1997. From March 2008 until April 2018 Flores had been associated with Woodbury Financial out of the firm’s Appleton, Wisconsin 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.