Primary Capital of Miami Censured and Fined $50,000

The Florida-based Soreide Law Group obtained the following information from FINRA’s October 2021 Disciplinary Report on,
Primary Capital, LLC (Miami, Florida).
On August 16, 2021, an Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) was issued in which Primary Capital was censured and fined $50,000.00 by FINRA.
Without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, Primary Capital consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it allegedly participated in offerings without establishing, maintaining and enforcing a supervisory system, including Written Supervisory Procedures (WSPs), reasonably designed to supervise its business relating to an EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.
FINRA’s findings stated that the program is overseen by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and was created by Congress to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors.
According to the FINRA report, two of Primary Capital’s registered representatives allegedly engaged in EB-5 business through the firm and their respective outside business activities (OBAs) by soliciting foreign investors who wished to make an EB-5 investment, recommending specific EB-5 investments to clients, acting as a liaison between various regional centers and investors, and facilitating the transfer of investment funds to the respective regional centers.
Primary Capital, according to the FINRA report, expanded its EB-5 business and hired additional registered representatives to solicit investors in these deals. FINRA alleges that the two representatives’ business was intertwined with the firm’s EB-5 business and the firm acted as finder or placement agent for the offerings. According to FINRA the firm incorrectly characterized aspects of the two representatives’ EB-5 businesses as OBAs that it was not required to supervise.
FINRA also stated that Primary Capital allegedly failed to update its WSPs to address its involvement in the offerings until four years after it became involved with the business. According to FINRA, the WSPs were not reasonable because they provided only limited guidance to those representatives at the firm who facilitated and participated in EB-5 transactions.
FINRA’s findings also allege that Primary Capital failed to establish, maintain and enforce a system, including WSPs, reasonably designed to supervise its registered representatives’ EB-5 related websites. The firm did not conduct regular supervisory reviews of websites maintained by the two representatives in relation to their EB-5 business that contained content that violated FINRA’s advertising rules. Two of the websites contained alleged statements falsely suggesting that one of the representative’s activities were endorsed by FINRA or the SEC. Another website contained summaries of EB-5 offerings that allegedly failed to provide a balanced treatment of the risks and potential benefits of investment.
FINRA’s findings also included that Primary Capital failed to make timely filings with FINRA in relation to private placement offerings.
(FINRA Case #2017053116801)
If you've experienced financial losses due to the recommendations or actions of Primary Capital LLC of Miami or any other firm regarding EB-5 offerings without understanding the alleged risks involved, contact the South Florida based, Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer at no cost regarding the possible recovery of your investment losses through a FINRA arbitration at:  888-760-6552.
Soreide Law Group works on a contingency fee basis, no fee to you if no recovery, and represents clients nationwide before FINRA.