Broker Tom Sharp Allegedly Sells Bad REITs

Investor Alert! Soreide Law Group provides you this update with respect to securities broker Thomas “Tom” David Sharp (CRD#: 1623353, Gold River, California). Apparently, some of Sharp’s investors filed complaints or lawsuits about him indicating that he caused their losses. FINRA BrokerCheck shows that these complaints suggest that Sharp provided bad investment advice. Here’s what we know so far.

Ameriprise Financial Client Indicates Tom Sharp Breached Fiduciary Duty

Apparently, a client of Tom Sharp’s at Ameriprise Financial Services brought suit in April 2019. First of all, the client alleged that from 2004 to 2010, Sharp provided bad advice about real estate investment trusts (REITs). Those included CNL, CRB Realty and WP Carey. Secondly, Sharp seemingly misrepresented real estate securities. Thirdly, the client indicated that Sharp breached a fiduciary duty. Fourthly, the client indicated that Ameriprise Financial failed to supervise Sharp which resulted in his deceptive activities. For this reason, Ameriprise paid $35,000 to this client to settle the dispute.

Second Ameriprise Client Indicates Sharp Gave Bad Advice About REITs

Evidently, in May 2017, an Ameriprise Financial Services client sued over Tom Sharp’s bad advice. Supposedly, Sharp gave the client shoddy advice about REITs and the client bought in. Those speculative and potentially illiquid investments appear to have produced losses for the client. For this reason, the client demanded compensatory relief. As a result, Ameriprise paid the client $147,000.

Client Indicates That Tom Sharp Violated Suitability Rules

Also, in 2015, a client came forward with a dispute about Tom Sharp. In the Statement of Claim, the client indicated that Sharp violated FINRA rules on suitability. Notably, the client purchased CB Richard Ellis and CNL Lifestyle Properties. Apparently, these unsupervised transactions were not proper or reasonable given the client’s risk tolerance, objectives or other suitability criteria. For this reason, the FINRA Arbitrator told Sharp to pay the client more than $40,000.

FINRA Reprimands Sharp For Unbalanced Material

Also, FINRA issued Sharp a 10-day suspension and a $5,000 fine for violating FINRA rules. Sharp actually consented to paying this fine and undergoing the suspension to resolve FINRA’s allegations of him using unbalanced and unfair material. Apparently, Sharp pitched non-traded REITs to clients but he failed to give them a sound basis for evaluating the investments. Apparently, Sharp did not clearly describe how the REITs worked. Supposedly, clients made purchases of the REIT to their detriment.

Did Tom Sharp Sell You Bad Investments?

Have you experienced losses by investing with Tom Sharp? If so, reach out to Soreide Law Group at (888) 760-6552 and speak with us concerning a possible recovery of your investment losses. Remember that Soreide Law Group represents clients on a contingency fee basis and advances all costs. We have recovered millions of dollars for clients who have incurred losses due to misconduct of securities brokers like Sharp and brokerage firms.