Securities Lawyers Blog
The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that advisor Todd Lesk (Lesk) has been accused by multiple investors of engaging in fraudulent securities sales. Lesk was barred by a regulator for engaging in undisclosed investment activities including undisclosed outside business activities (OBAs). According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), it appears that Lesk was employed by LPL Financial LLC (LPL) and Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. (Cambridge) at the time of the activity. However, Lesk did business under the names Lesk Financial, RLA Financial, and CIRA. If you have been a victim of Lesk’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.
In September 2022 LPL terminated Lesk for cause alleging that Lesk directed customers to invest in an unapproved investment, a LLC that the representative founded, without notice to, or approval from LPL.
In October 2023 Cambridge terminated Lesk for cause alleging that Lesk tendered his resignation based on the Firm’s understanding that the Lesk was unwilling to cooperate with either the regulators or Cambridge’s requests for information.
On October 6, 2023, Lesk accepted a permanent industry bar with FINRA by failing to respond to the regulator’s requests for documents and information. According to FINRA, Lesk consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he refused to provide information and documents and to appear for testimony requested by FINRA in connection with an investigation into whether he recommended that his customer invest in a crypto asset offering. Thereafter, multiple customers have filed complaints alleging that Lesk engaged in securities law violations.
Our law firm has significant experience bringing cases on behalf of defrauded victims when their advisors engage in receiving loans from clients or selling securities sales through OBAs. The sale of unapproved investment products – 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. 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.
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.
Lesk entered the securities industry in 1997. From August 2011 through September 2016 Lesk was registered with Middlebury Securities LLC. From February 2017 through February 2018, Lesk was associated with Invest Financial Corporation. From February 2018 until September 2022 Lesk was registered with LPL. Finally, from September 2022 until October 2023 Lesk was registered with Cambridge out of the firm’s Coral Springs, Florida branch 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.