If you are an investor who suffered financial losses while working with former Voya Financial Advisors (VOYA) broker James T. Flynn, please contact Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LLP (SSEK Law Firm) today.
Our broker fraud lawyers are investigating claims brought by the former clients of Mr. Flynn while he was a registered broker with Voya Financial from 2013 to 2017 and previous to that while he worked with other financial firms. Voya fired him in 2017.
With 18 years of experience in the industry, Flynn, who was barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in 2018 after he failed to respond to the self-regulatory organization (SRO)’s request for more information in a probe involving him, has forty disclosures on his BrokerCheck record.
This includes at least a dozen customer disputes that are still pending. The rest of the disclosures listed involves previous customer disputes that are now closed, tax liens and bankruptcy.
According to InvestmentNews, customer disputes involving Voya Financial are from firm clients who became heavily involved in variable annuities (VAs) and non-traded real estate investment trusts (Non-traded REITs) because Flynn recommended these investments to them. Non-traded REITs and VAs tend to pay higher commissions to brokers than other financial investments. They are not suitable for every type of investor.
Ex-Broker James T.Flynn: The Broker Fraud Claims Made Against Him
Among the allegations made in the pending broker fraud claims against James T. Flynn are the following:
- Unsuitable investment recommendations
- Overconcentration
- Omissions
- Illiquid investments sold without regard to clients’ goals and risk tolerance
- Speculative financial products
- High commissions
- Misrepresentations
- Exaggeration of financial data
- Inadequate recommendations
Damage amounts requested in the still pending investor cases range from $100K to up to $1M. InvestmentNews reports that to date, Voya Financial Advisors has already paid $907K in a dozen complaints involving Flynn.
After Voya, Flynn became a registered IFS Securities broker, but that brokerage firm fired him within one year. InvestmentNews stated that Flynn’s termination by IFS Securities happened after a client complained about a problem involving VA trading.
Flynn was also formerly a registered broker with Capital Investment Group, Brookstone Securities, which was expelled by FINRA in 2012, Uvest Financial Services Group, Inc., Wachovia Securities, BB & T Investment Services, The ON Equity Sale Company, VSR Financial Services, and two other firms.
SEC Bars Voya Financial Broker Martin Stancik
It was just in April that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) barred another Voya Financial broker, Martin Stancik. The decision came after Stancik was charged not just civilly, but also in criminal court.
Stancik was sentenced to 65 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to misappropriating more than $544K from over four customers and forging a check. He was a Voya Financial broker for eight years, from 2006 to 2014.
Broker Fraud
Our broker fraud lawyers and our brokerage firm misconduct attorneys work with investors throughout the US in recouping losses caused by the wrongdoing or negligent actions of financial representatives and/or their firms.
We have successfully pursued broker-dealer claims against firms whose negligent or lax practices, including inadequate supervision, made it possible for broker misconduct to occur. If James T. Flynn or Martin Stancik was your Voya Financial broker and you sustained losses that you believe may have been due to fraud or negligence, contact Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LLP (SSEK Law Firm) today.