Center Street Securities

With branches in more than forty US states, broker-dealer Center Street Securities is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and has operations offices in Louisiana and Virginia. The firm was established in 1991, and in 2021, independent brokerage firm Arete Wealth acquired the firm.

Our broker misconduct attorneys at Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) are investigating claims of losses by investors who worked with Center Street Securities financial advisors.

In 2022, we represent several clients in Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration against Center Street in helping them to pursue damages.

GWG Holdings, Inc. sold $1.6B of L bonds to investors. In February 2022, the alternative asset firm defaulted on $13.6M in payments and interest it owed investors. The company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection two months later.

Now, our GWG L Bond investment attorneys are representing investors against the broker-dealers that sold them these risky junk bonds that were structured like private placements. Including L bond claims against Center Street, such as:

A six-figure FINRA arbitration claim on behalf of Ozark retirees: The claimants are an elderly Missouri couple pursuing up to $500K in damages against the broker-dealer and its financial advisor Joseph Martin LaTour. Who locally operates as LaTour Asset Management in Springfield, MO. The claimants contend that the respondents unsuitably recommended GWG L Bonds to them even though they wanted low-risk, stable investments. L Bonds are risky, illiquid junk bonds.

 A $500K GWG L Bond claim for an older Tennessee couple: These retirees also say that the broker-dealer unsuitably sold them these speculative high-yield bonds. They worked with Center Street Securities broker Morgan Hill, who operates locally as Hill & Hill Financial in Knoxville.

Another L Bond losses case by a different Missouri couple: These retiree investors also worked with Center Street broker Joseph LaTour. Alleging unsuitability, misrepresentations and omissions, overconcentration, gross negligence, and other claims, they are pursuing up to $500K in damages.

Center Street Securities is one of the more than 140 regional brokerage firms partnered with managing broker-dealer Emerson Equity to sell $1.6B of L Bonds to investors. They earned high commissions from the transactions. Many of these Center Street Securities brokers that sold these junk bonds to customers may have been known by their local firm names.

Former Center Street registered representative Sean Joseph Kelly. He allegedly defrauded a dozen investors, including older retirees and customers with disabilities, of at least $1M through his own companies. Kelly faced related US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges, and the regulator eventually barred him. He pleaded guilty to criminal charges of mail fraud. The ex-Georgia-based financial advisor has 11 customer disputes noted on his CRD, including a few that are still pending and others that resulted in settlements or awards/judgments.

Center Street broker James Jones in Jasper, Indiana. He has been involved in at least two customer complaints in 2022. This includes an unsuitability case in which the claimant is seeking more than $306K in damages and another investor claim for up to $400K in damages. Both cases involve alleged alternative investment losses.

Ex-Center Street Securities Satya Brata Shaw, who may have unsuitably recommended private placement securities, non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITS), and other illiquid investments, including ARC Global Trust II, ARC NYC REIT, NorthStar HealthCare Income, and others. He has 17 disclosures on record, including customer disputes and multiple regulatory cases.

Fired Center Street broker John Albert Westbrook. The firm let him go in 2020 for purportedly failing to follow policy and procedures.

Also, that year, FINRA suspended Westbrook for five months and fined him $5K for allegedly selling more than $350K away from the firm in private securities transactions. The company in which the securities were sold would later go out of business while still owing investors almost $300M. Westbrook is no longer a registered representative.

Contact our skilled broker misconduct lawyers right away to explore your legal options and determine whether you have grounds for a FINRA arbitration claim against the firm. Your first consultation with us is a free, no-obligation case assessment.

Over the years, SSEK Law Firm has helped thousands of investors in recovering many millions of dollars from the broker-dealers that caused them financial harm.

Call (800) 259-9010 or contact us online.