Michael Babyak barred by FINRA
In December, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) announced that Michael Babyak of Randolph, New Jersey, a registered representative formerly with Leigh Baldwin and LPL Financial submitted an acceptance, waiver and consent letter whereby he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. The FINRA complaint asserted that Michael Babyak participated in private securities transactions with firm customers without obtaining prior permission or approval. These clients invested over four million dollars into a company set up by Babyak. LPL financial discharged Babyak once it discovered the transactions, citing firm policy prohibiting soliciting unapproved investments or engaging in loan transactions with customers.
Registration and disciplinary history
In order to lawfully sell investments to the public, a registered rep must either be registered or exempt from registration. Michael Babyak was registered with:
Leigh Baldwin from December, 2015 to September, 2016
LPL Financial from January, 1994 – December, 2015
According to FINRA’s CRD disclosure report, Michael Babyak has been the subject of two customer complaints and one regulatory investigation.
The Law Office of David Liebrader practices exclusively in the field of investment loss recovery. For the past 23 years, we have dedicated our law practice to assisting investors who have been victims of investment fraud via fraudulent and unsuitable investment transactions. During that time we have recovered money for over one thousand individuals, pension plans, trusts and companies. The recoveries we have obtained via judgments, awards and settlements on behalf of our clients exceed $40,000,000.
When investors contact our firm they can expect prompt attention, and a detailed analysis of their issues. Typical claims that we are asked to review involve “unsuitability (where a financial advisor makes investment recommendations that are inconsistent with a customer’s investment objectives), claims for “churning” (where a broker enters into an excessive number of trades for the purpose of generating commissions), claims involving illiquid investments such as private placements (I.e., real estate investment trusts, limited partnerships, equipment leasing and oil and gas drilling programs) as well as claims for violations of state securities laws, which often provide investors remedies like attorney’s fees and interest, if they are successful on the claim.
If you suspect that you have been the victim of investment fraud, or had a financial advisor recommend unsuitable investments to you, call us today for a free, confidential consultation at (702) 380-3131.