The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sanctioned the following eight firms and 10 individuals, and ordered restitution totaling more than $3.2 million, for selling interests in private placement offerings without having a reasonable basis for recommending the securities. The firms and individuals sold interests in several high-risk private placements, including those issued by Provident Royalties, […]

Broker-dealers' falling short in due diligence when selling complex, illiquid products has been a focus of FINRA examinations and fines since the market collapse of 2008, writes Bruce Kelly of InvestmentNews.com. FINRA recently fined and sanctioned a handful of broker-dealers that sold two series of private placements that imploded in 2009 — Medical Capital Holdings […]

In an InvestmentNews.com article by Bruce Kelly, he writes that failed private placements issued by Medical Capital Holdings Inc. and Provident Royalties LLC have forced dozens of broker-dealers to close, be sold or seek bankruptcy protection. Failed real estate tenant-in-common syndicator DBSI Inc. is threatening to have the same result, with DeWaay Financial Network LLC […]

Pacific West Securities, Inc., a sizable independent broker-dealer with about 290 affiliated reps and advisers, is shutting down due to thin margins and high costs of doing business, with the reps moving to a broker-dealer in Cetera Financial Group, writes Bruce Kelly in a Dec. 6, 2011, ariticle for InvesmentNews.com. Kelly writes that Pacific West Securities […]

In a November 25, 2011, article in InvestNews.com, Bruce Kelly writes that broker-dealers who sold billions of dollars in allegedly fraudulent private placements failed massively in their due-diligence responsibilities to investors, according to the assessment of forensic accountant and expert witness Gordon Yale, who has worked on more than 50 legal claims brought by investors against […]

Soreide Law Group, PLLC, announced that they are currently investigating the sale of the Laeroc Funds, including the Laeroc 2002 Income Fund LP, Laeroc 2004-2005 Income Fund LP, Laeroc 2005-2006 Income Fund LP, Laeroc Edge Fund LP and Laeroc Income Fund 2007, LP. These Laeroc funds were sold as real estate private placements (under Regulation D).  […]

Bruce Kelly writes in a Sept. 13th, 2011, article in InvestmentNews.com that a broker-dealer who sold millions of dollars of failed private placements reached a $200,000 settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. last month, with the money going to the investors. In a Finra letter of acceptance, waiver and consent, Capital Financial Services Inc. of Minot, […]

In an article from InvestmentNews.com, Bruce Kelly writes that after avoiding the pitfalls of disastrous Regulation D deals during the past decade, Commonwealth Financial Network and LPL Financial LLC, are contending with potential fallout from a real estate private placement that faces pressure from its creditors. The financial advisers from both Commonwealth and LPL sold the […]

In an August 4, 2011, article by Bruce Kelly for InvestmentNews.com he writes that after avoiding the pitfalls of disastrous Regulation D deals during the past decade, Commonwealth Financial Network and LPL Financial, LLC, are contending with potential fallout from a real estate private placement that faces pressure from its creditors. Kelley writes that financial advisers […]