According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Richard Diamond (Diamond), previously associated with Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one tax lien, alleging that Diamond recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on December 09, 2024.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) deems it appropriate and in the public interest that public administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted pursuant against Richard K. Diamond (“Diamond” or “Respondent”). In anticipation of the institution of these proceedings, Respondent has submitted an Offer of Settlement which the Commission has determined to accept. The commission finds that this proceeding arises from an oil and gas offering fraud in which, between at least October 2018 and December 2021, The Heartland Group Ventures, LLC, Heartland Production and Recovery LLC, six other Heartland-affiliated entities, and four Heartland-affiliated individuals (collectively, “Heartland”), raised approximately $122 million from more than 700 investors nationwide through five fraudulent and unregistered securities offerings for which there was no applicable registration exemption (“Heartland Offerings”). Between June 2019 and December 2021 (the “relevant time period”), Diamond acted as an unregistered broker-dealer on behalf of Heartland in connection with three of its unregistered securities offerings. Diamond raised approximately $9,375,000.00 for the Heartland Offerings through the offer and sale of unregistered securities to eight individual investors, both directly and indirectly through a “feeder fund,” a company that Diamond wholly owned and controlled. Diamond, among other things, solicited investors directly and indirectly to invest in certain Heartland Offerings, provided advice to investors relating to the Heartland Offerings, assisted investors in completing investment documents, assisted investors in transferring their funds to Heartland, and received transaction-based compensation from Heartland for those sales. Diamond was not registered as a broker-dealer with the Commission or associated with a registered broker-dealer during the relevant time period. As a result of his conduct, Diamond willfully violated Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act and willfully violated Section 15(a)(1) of the Exchange Act.
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