Investor Lawyers Blog
A number of investors have recently filed arbitration claims with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) against broker Austin Richard Dutton, Jr. (CRD# 2739167). Publicly available information indicates that Mr. Dutton was previously affiliated with Newbridge Securities Corporation (“Newbridge”) (CRD# 104065) from 2007-2017. Currently, Mr. Dutton is affiliated with Sandlapper Securities, LLC (“Sandlapper”) (CRD# 137906), and conducts his financial advisory business through his own independent firm, Bridge Valley Financial Services, LLC. Upon information and belief, Mr. Dutton marketed certain risky non-traded investment products to a client base which includes Philadelphia law enforcement and firefighters.
According to publicly available information, Mr. Dutton appears to have recommended and sold certain complex and risky non-conventional investments (“NCIs”) including direct participation programs (“DPPs”) and non-traded financial products, including non-traded REITs. In particular, it appears that Mr. Dutton recommended and sold numerous non-traded REITs previously packaged and marketed by Nicholas Schorsch’s firm, American Realty Capital (ARC), now known as AR Global.
FINRA disclosures concerning Mr. Dutton include, but are not limited to, four pending customer complaints and a July 2017 regulatory enforcement proceeding by state securities regulators. Of the pending complaints, three pending customer disputes were filed in December 2017 and all center on allegations of unsuitability, misrepresentations, and omissions of material facts concerning the risks and features of certain securities.