According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker James Mcarthur (Mcarthur), previously associated with IBN Financial Services, Inc., has at least 15 disclosable events. These events include 15 customer complaints, alleging that Mcarthur recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $3,600,000.00 on November 15, 2024.
Claimants allege: breach of fiduciary duty; failure to supervise; negligence and gross negligence; and, misrepresentations and omissions. The alleged activity occurred from December 2019 to February 2023.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $300,000.00 on June 21, 2024.
SOC alleges that during the period of his association with the Firm, Respondent was liable for: violations of FINRA Rules 2010, 2020, 2111, and 3280; negligence; and, breach of contract. The Respondents period of registration was between March 2021 and June 2022.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $150,000.00 on June 20, 2024.
SOC alleges that during the period of his association with the Firm, Respondent was liable for: violations of FINRA Rules 2010, 2020, 2111, and 3280; negligence; and, breach of contract. The Respondents period of registration was between March 2021 and June 2022.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $1,000,000.00 on June 18, 2024.
SOC alleges that during the period of his association with the Firm, Respondent was liable for: violations of FINRA Rules 2010, 2020, 2111, and 3280; negligence; and, breach of contract. The Respondents period of registration was between March 2021 and June 2022.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $125,000.00 on June 18, 2024.
SOC alleges that during the period of his association with the Firm, Respondent was liable for: violations of FINRA Rules 2010, 2020, 2111, and 3280; negligence; and, breach of contract. The Respondents period of registration was between March 2021 and June 2022.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $1,100,000.00 on June 17, 2024.
SOC alleges that during the period of his association with the Firm, Respondent was liable for: violations of FINRA Rules 2010, 2020, 2111, and 3280; negligence; and, breach of contract. The Respondents period of registration was between March 2021 and June 2022.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $1,300,000.00 on June 17, 2024.
SOC alleges that during the period of his association with the Firm, Respondent was liable for: violations of FINRA Rules 2010, 2020, 2111, and 3280; negligence; and, breach of contract. The Respondents period of registration was between March 2021 and June 2022.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $600,000.00 on June 17, 2024.
SOC alleges that during the period of his association with the Firm, Respondent was liable for: violations of FINRA Rules 2010, 2020, 2111, and 3280; negligence; and, breach of contract. The Respondents period of registration was between March 2021 and June 2022.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $400,000.00 on June 17, 2024.
SOC alleges that during the period of his association with the Firm, Respondent was liable for: violations of FINRA Rules 2010, 2020, 2111, and 3280; negligence; and, breach of contract. The Respondents period of registration was between March 2021 and June 2022.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $700,000.00 on June 17, 2024.
SOC alleges that during the period of his association with the Firm, Respondent was liable for: violations of FINRA Rules 2010, 2020, 2111, and 3280; negligence; and, breach of contract. The Respondents period of registration was between March 2021 and June 2022.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $4,700,000.00 on May 24, 2024.
SOC alleges that during the period of his association with the Firm, Respondent was liable for: violations of FINRA Rules 2010, 2020, 2111, and 3280; negligence; and, breach of contract. Respondent’s period of registration was between March, 2021 and June, 2022.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $100,000.00 on May 23, 2024.
The SOC alleges that during the period of his association with the Firm, Respondent engaged in sales of unregistered securities. Respondent was registered with the Firm between March, 2021and June, 2022
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $633,000.00 on May 20, 2024.
The SOC alleges that, during his association with the Firm, Respondent was liable for: negligence and/or gross negligence; breach of contract and breach of good faith and fair dealing; omission of material facts and misleading statements. Respondent was registered with the Firm between March, 2021 and June, 2022.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $100,000.00 on May 06, 2024.
SOC alleges that, during his time associated with the Firm, Respondent sold unregistered securities in the form of promissory notes. Respondent was registered with the Firm between March, 2021and June, 2022.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $2,000,000.00 on May 06, 2024.
SOC alleges that, during his period of association with the Firm, Respondent engaged in the sale of unregistered securities. Respondent was registered with the Firm between March, 2021 and June,2022.
Brokers must prioritize their clients’ best interests and recommend only appropriate investments, as mandated by securities laws. In addition, the SEC has promulgated “Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI)” which according to the SEC enhanced the broker-dealer standard of conduct beyond existing suitability obligations and requires broker-dealers to act in the best interest of a retail customer when making a recommendation of any securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities. Regulation Best Interest and the fiduciary standard for investment advisers are drawn from key fiduciary principles that include an obligation to act in the retail investor’s best interest and not to place their own interests ahead of the investor’s interest.
Brokers are required to gather and assess adequate information about a retail investor to reasonably determine that their account recommendations align with the investor’s best interests. Recommendations cannot be based on materially inaccurate or incomplete information. The cost of the recommendation and information about the investor are always part of material information. Types of costs that must be considered including account fees, commissions and transaction costs, tax considerations, as well as indirect costs.
In addition to obligation to understand the customer the broker must also investigate the product being sold. FINRA firms have an obligation to conduct a reasonable investigation of the issuer and the securities they recommend in offerings. A brokerage firm has a special relationship with a customer from the fact that in recommending the security, the broker represents to the customer that a reasonable investigation has been made. So, a brokerage firm should not depend solely on information from the issuer regarding a company, but must perform its own thorough investigation.
Additional investor safeguards include broker disclosure requirements. Brokers are required to report events to FINRA, such as customer complaints, IRS tax liens, judgments, investigations, terminations, and even criminal matters, as shown on their BrokerCheck reports. FINRA has recognized that recent research shows past regulatory and customer complaint issues can indicate future problems for brokers. The Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) at FINRA released a study demonstrating that past disciplinary and disclosure events can be used to anticipate future ones. The OCE study showed that past disclosure events, including regulatory actions, customer arbitrations and litigations of brokers, have significant power to predict future investor harm. The data shows that where a member firm on-boards brokers with a significant history of misconduct there is a high likelihood that the broker will continue to engage in similar behavior.
Mcarthur has been in the securities industry for more than 23 years. Mcarthur has been registered as a Broker with Ibn Financial Services, Inc. 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.