Securities Fraud Lawyer Blog
Liberty Associates fined.
In February, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) announced that Liberty Associates New York, NY submitted an acceptance, waiver and consent letter regarding its failure to effectively implement a reasonable supervisory system designed to achieve compliance with the securities laws. In agreeing to the AWC, the firm was fined $3,500.
FINRA’s allegations against Liberty Associates concerned a registered rep working out of its New Mexico office who was engaged in the sale of private placements. FINRA’s allegations concerned the firm’s failure to conduct due diligence into the offerings, and the failure to determine whether the investors in the private placements were accredited investors. FINRA also took issue with the firm’s failure to retain emails.
Registration and disciplinary history
In order to lawfully sell investments to the public, a firm must either be registered or exempt from registration. Liberty Associates is a New York corporation formed in 1984 and registered with FINRA, the SEC and in 1 state.
According to FINRA’s CRD disclosure report, Liberty Associates has been the subject of three 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.