Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) records show that broker Christopher Veale (Veale) has been the subject of multiple customer complaints as well as other regulatory proceedings arising out of his dealings with customers. FINRA records indicate that Veale has had at least 12 customer complaints, as well as six judgments, levied against him. FINRA records also show that Veale has been the subject of two investigations by state regulators and has been charged with one felony.
Veale’s customers have complained about multiple alleged securities law violations including unsuitable recommendations, unauthorized trades, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentations and false statements, churning, and fraud, among other claims. In particular, Veale allegedly recommended unsuitable securities such as penny stocks and other speculative securities to customers.
Veale has worked at multiple brokerages, including Maximum Financial Investment Group, Franklin Christopher Investment Bankers, Inc., Brookville Capital Partners, Blackwall Capital Markets, Inc., Meyers Associates, L.P., John Thomas Financial, and Legend Securities, Inc. (until February 2015).
FINRA reports that it began investigating Veale in January 2015, focusing on a review of Veale’s outside securities accounts, outside business activities and potential sales practice concerns in Veale’s customer accounts. FINRA was also concerned that Veale potentially violated the industries rules by failing to disclose certain outstanding liens and judgments on forms that he filed with FINRA.
While Veale was registered with Legend Securities. FINRA alleges that Veale also was working for a company called Legend Advance Funding (LAF). FINRA found that Veale’s employment with LAF was not disclosed on his Form U4, and it is believed that Veale may have been soliciting customers to invest in LAF outside of their Legend accounts- a practice commonly referred to as “selling away” in the industry . In the industry the term selling away refers to when a financial advisor solicits investments in companies or securities that have not been approved by the broker’s affiliated firm. Under FINRA rules, a brokerage firm is responsible for properly monitoring and supervising its employees to prevent “selling away”- and may be liable for “selling away” losses even if the firm did not actually know of the violations.
If you have suffered significant losses as a result of “selling away” or a brokerage firm’s failure to supervise a stockbroker or financial advisor, you may have a valid securities arbitration claim. To find out more about your legal rights and options, contact an investor rights attorney at Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C. at (866) 966-9598 or newcases@investorlawyers.net for a no-cost, confidential consultation.