Shepherd, Smith, Edwards & Kantas (“SSEK”), a law firm specializing in representing wronged investors, is looking into allegations against Financial West Group and its broker Daniel Gordon Maughan.
It is alleged that Maughan excessively traded and churned a client’s Trust Account at his member firm. A arbitration complaint has already been filed! According to his brokercheck, Maughan has also been banned by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA).
The complaint alleges that by churning the customer’s trust account, Maughan willfully:
- violated FINRA Rules 2020 and 2010
- alleges Maughan was in violation of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5
- alleges that Maughan had no reasonable basis for the transactions recommended
- and that the activity level in the account was unsuitable given the nature of the clients’ financial situation and investment objectives.
The unsuitable recommendations involved options, non-traditional Exchange-Traded Funds and an Exchange-Traded Note. It is further alleged approximately 1,648 trades executed in the trust account that resulted in principal purchases and sales in excess of $70 million.
Maughan, who was based out of Los Angeles, California, was investigated by FINRA. Maughan who has been a broker since 1997, allegedly refused to cooperate with the investigation. It is not unusual for FINRA to ban financial advisors who refuse to cooperate with its investigations into wrongdoings. According to FINRA, Maughan accepted the sanction without admitting to or denying the conclusions made by the Regulatory body.
SSEK LAW FIRM
SSEK has experience in representing customers of financial advisors who acted inappropriately with client assets, or violated industry standards and Rules. SSEK’s experience shows that before a financial advisor begins improperly trading client assets, he or she often does other things that are wrong for clients, such as unsuitable investing, churning, unauthorized trading or other misconduct. Even after the bad acts are uncovered, those other wrongs often go unnoticed and are never addressed without a customer hiring a law firm like SSEK.
If you were a victim of securities fraud or negligence, it is not your fault. The experienced attorneys at SSEK are experts at FINRA arbitrations and dealing with financial advisors who have fallen under SEC scrutiny. For the last 30 years, SSEK has filed thousands of FINRA claims on behalf of consumers wronged by unscrupulous brokers and brokerage firms. If you were a client of Daniel Gordon Maughan or suspect any sort of wrongdoing from your investment advisor, contact our office for a free, no obligation consultation of your situation.
800-259-9010