CENTAURUS FINANCIAL & Steven Nielsen

Soreide Law Group has filed a FINRA arbitration on behalf of our clients (Claimants) against:

CENTAURUS FINANCIAL, INC.(Respondent).

The Claimants are retired and living in Arizona. The lawsuit states that they were looking for stable investments that would provide them with income. The Claimants have been clients of CENTAURUS FINANCIAL, INC and their registered representative, Steven LaMar Nielsen (Steven Nielsen) for some time.  Nielsen has been with this firm both as a broker and as an investment advisor since 8/7/2017 and is not named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that the Claimants were sold speculative investments in GWG and other alternative investments. The Claimants were allegedly advised that GWG was a solid investment and that many of Respondent’s clients also allegedly owned the bonds. Unfortunately, GWG has filed for bankruptcy. The Claimants will likely suffer a total loss of their investment. The lawsuit alleges that CENTAURUS FINANCIAL and their registered representative, Steven Nielsen failed to disclose the speculative risk of their recommendation to invest in GWG.  Also, the Claimants were sold a series of alternative investments that cannot be sold on the open market.

The lawsuit alleges the Claimants have suffered damages of approximately $99,000. The lawsuit is alleging negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, negligent supervision, breach of contract, and violation of NASD and NYSE rules.

According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, available to the public on FINRA’s website, Steven Nielsen has been in the securities industry for 25 years and has been listed with 11 firms.  Nielsen has 13 disclosures on his FINRA CRD report. One of the disclosures is an “Employment Separation after Allegations” dated 12/31/2013, which permitted Nielsen to resign from MADISON AVENUE SECURITIES, INC. The other 12 disclosures are “Customer Disputes.”  Ten of the complaints have settled and two are pending. Most of the allegations listed in the complaints relate to unsuitable investment recommendations.

The significance of Nielsen’s 12 “Customer Disputes” is underscored in FINRA NOTICE to MEMBERS 03-49. FINRA conducted a review of the CRD’s of all registered representatives, only .41% had been the subject of 3 or more customer complaints. In other words, Steven Nielsen’s customer complaints rank him in the top one-hundredth percent of all registered representatives for customer complaints. 

To discuss this article or any other securities related issues, please contact Soreide Law Group and speak to and experienced securities lawyer at no cost:  888-760-6552.

Soreide Law Group represents our clients nationwide before FINRA on a contingency fee basis, no fee to you if no recovery.