Securities Fraud Lawyer Blog
In November, 2015, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) announced that Wiley Bros. Aintree Capital, LLC of Nashville Tennessee submitted a letter of acceptance, waiver and consent in which the firm was censured and fined $35,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, Wiley Bros. Aintree Capital consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to establish, maintain, and enforce a supervisory system and adequate written supervisory control procedures reasonably designed to review and monitor the movement of funds from customer accounts to firm employees.
The findings stated that a registered sales assistant converted approximately $147,400 from a customer by using blank, pre-signed letters of authorization to request and obtain checks payable to herself. The sales assistant also requested checks payable to the customer, claiming that she would hand-deliver the checks to him, but thereafter forged the endorsements on the checks to herself and converted the funds.
The findings also stated that the firm’s supervisory control system in this area failed to include a policy or procedure requiring a review to detect or prevent transmittals of funds from customers to firm employees. The firm failed to enforce its own written supervisory procedures related to hand-delivery of checks. As a result of the firm’s failure to establish, maintain, and enforce a supervisory system and adequate written supervisory control procedures, the registered sales assistant was able to convert the funds.
Wiley Bros. Aintree Capital’s registration and disciplinary history
In order to lawfully sell investments to the public, one must either be registered or exempt from registration.
Wiley Bros. Aintree Capital is registered with the SEC, two SROs and in 52 states and territories.
According to FINRA’s CRD disclosure report, Wiley Bros. Aintree Capital has been the subject of four arbitrations and four regulatory investigations.
The Law Office of David Liebrader practices exclusively in the field of investment loss recovery and our securities attorneys have successfully resolved over 1000 investment loss cases over the past 20 years. Recoveries for clients top $40 million. The types of claims we have successfully handled include those involving unsuitable investments (suitability claims), excessive trading or “churning”, misrepresentations and omissions, unauthorized trading, over-concentration of illiquid or overly risky investments, pump and dump scams involving “penny stocks”, direct participation programs (private placements) involving real estate investment trusts (REITS), oil and gas exploration programs, leasing equipment deals and receivable financing, promissory notes whether sold through a broker dealer or as part of the outside business activities of a registered representative, ponzi scheme losses, failure on the part of the broker dealer to perform due diligence, state securities law (blue sky) violations and failure to supervise.
Investment losses can be recovered through a process known as FINRA arbitration. FINRA regulates broker dealers that sell investments, and provides an arbitration forum to resolve investor disputes. Investors can pursue claims against their brokerage firms in the FINRA arbitration forum. Common claims in the forum are those for suitability, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentations and omissions, negligence, violation of FINRA rules, state and federal securities laws violations, elder abuse, breach of contract and failure to supervise. On average, the recovery process takes approximately a year, from start to finish.
FINRA’s rules require that all investment recommendations made by licensed financial advisors be suitable in light of a customer’s needs, objectives and risk tolerance. In addition, all registered representatives are required to be properly supervised, with periodic inspections and reviews by qualified supervisors, whose job it is to vigorously investigate suspicions of wrongdoing (red flags).
If you have suffered investment losses please call The Law Office of David Liebrader at (702) 380-3131 for a free, confidential consultation