Securities Fraud Lawyer Blog
In February, 2017 the Certified Financial Planner Board’s Commission of Discipline and Ethics disciplined certified financial planner Sheldon Harber by suspending his CFP certification for a period of five months; from February 2017 through July, 2017.
Harber, of St. Louis, Missouri, Arkansas was previously registered with Geneos Wealth Management, Cambridge Investment Research and FSC Securities.
The suspension arises from a FINRA enforcement action in which Harber entered into a letter of acceptance, waiver and consent (“AWC”) with FINRA that called for a four month suspension and a $10,000 fine. While suspended from FINRA Harber is not permitted to act as a registered representative or affiliate himself with any FINRA firm for the purpose of selling securities.
Both the CFP Board and FINRA cited Harber’s conduct in participating in private securities transactions while affiliated with a FINRA member. Such outside business activities are a violation of FINRA rules if done without prior permission from a member firm.
In deciding on a five month suspension, The CFP Board noted that Harber failed to timely notify them of the suspension, and made false statements to the CFP Board regarding the suspension and his termination form the broker dealer.
Registration and disciplinary history
In order to lawfully sell investments to the public, a registered rep must either be registered or exempt from registration. Sheldon Harber was registered with:
Geneos Wealth Management: August 2014 – January, 2016
Cambridge Investment Research: November, 2002 – September, 2014
FSC Securities: May, 1993 – November, 2002
According to FINRA’s CRD disclosure report, Sheldon Harber has been the subject of one customer complaint and two regulatory investigations.
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.