Thomas Andrews, a registered representative from California, formerly from Nephi, Utah, and previously registered with LPL Financial was barred from FINRA as a result of allegations he defrauded over twenty clients in a scam he called “the Lincoln” and “the Jackson Trust.” Accroding to a complaint filed by the SEC, Andrews with the help of his personal assistant Scott Christensen allegedly told investors that these investments were guaranteed and would pay them between five and eight percent. In fact, according to the SEC, the investment companies were fake and Andrews use the funds to support his lifestyle and pay Christensen over $1,000,000 to help him by mailing out bogus account statements. When LPL discovered that Andrews had misappropriated client funds in 2015, the terminated him. In 2016 he plead guilty to felony securities fraud and mail fraud.
Thomas Andrews’s registration and disciplinary history
In order to lawfully sell investments to the public, one must either be registered or exempt from registration.
Thomas Andrews was registered with LPL Financial form September, 2005 to October, 2015.
According to FINRA’s CRD disclosure report, Thomas Andrews has been the subject of three customer complaints, one regulatory investigation and one criminal action.
FINRA is the primary regulator for broker dealers and registered representatives in the United States. FINRA’s role is to promulgate standards and practices for the brokerage industry and to ensure compliance with its rules by licensed entities and individuals.
FINRA has two primary means to ensure compliance with the securities laws ; by means of an enforcement unit that investigates and disciplines wrongdoing, and through the establishment of an arbitration forum where investors can resolve disputes against broker dealers. FINRA’s arbitration forum, FINRA Dispute Resolution Inc. is the largest arbitration forum in the country for resolving investor disputes, and typically processes over 10,000 filings annually.
The Law Office of David Liebrader practices exclusively in the field of investment loss recovery. For the past 24 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.
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.