Galvin Legal, PLLC is launching an investigation on behalf of investors who may have suffered losses investing with C L King & Associates. If you suffered losses investing with C L King & Associates, then Galvin Legal, PLLC may be able to help you recover your losses in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA“) arbitration claim.
UPDATE 4/13/2020: According to FINRA’s January 2020 Disciplinary Actions: “C. L. King & Associates, Inc. (CRD® #6183, Albany, New York) and Gregg Alan Miller (CRD #4163500, Ballston Spa, New York) November 4, 2019 – A National Adjudicatory Counsel (NAC) decision became final in which the firm was censured, fined $342,000 and ordered to retain an independent consultant and Miller was fined $20,000, suspended from association with any FINRA® member in any principal and supervisory capacity for three months and required to requalify by examination before acting in any principal or supervisory capacity. The NAC modified the findings and the sanctions imposed by the Office of Hearing Officers (OHO). The sanctions were based on the findings that the firm failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system, including written supervisory procedures (WSPs), reasonably designed to ensure compliance with the federal securities laws and FINRA rules in connection with the firm’s survivor bonds business. The findings stated that no one at the firm had first-hand experience with a unique investment strategy created by a customer, who was a seasoned investment banker, and his hedge fund or the survivor bond business. The firm’s failure to reasonably supervise this unique business line continued for an extended period and involved 36 separate accounts at the firm and the redemption of approximately $62 million in survivor bonds on behalf of the customer and his hedge fund. The firm also did not have a written process for reviewing the redemption documents that it submitted, and did not obtain copies of participant agreements in a timely manner that coincided with establishing the accounts for the participants and the customer. The firm earned over $1 million from the customer and his hedge fund’s business. However, the firm earned no money directly from submitting the survivor bond redemptions. The NAC reversed the hearing panel’s findings that the firm negligently made material misrepresentations and omitted to disclose material information to the issuers of the survivor bonds.The findings also stated that the firm and Miller failed to establish and implement a reasonable anti-money laundering (AML) program, including WSPs, designed to detect, investigate and report potentially suspicious activity, particularly in light of the risks presented by penny stock liquidations of two customers, a bank and a corporation. The firm had embarked on a new and unfamiliar business line when it began liquidating penny stocks for the bank. The firm magnified its AML risk because a foreign financial institution domiciled in Switzerland placed penny stock orders on behalf of another foreign financial institution domiciled in Liechtenstein. Later, the firm significantly increased its AML exposure when it accepted the corporation as a customer and increased the volume of the firm’s penny-stock-liquidation business. The findings also included that the firm and Miller failed to conduct adequate due diligence and respond to red flags regarding the trading activity of the bank. The firm and Miller’s participation in the customers’ liquidations of speculative penny stocks without responding to red flags created a significant risk of harm to the investing public and integrity of the market. For liquidating penny stocks on behalf of the customers, the firm received commissions of over $574,000. The firm and Miller wholly failed to understand their obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act and FINRA rules related to the bank, a foreign financial institution. As a result, the firm and Miller never questioned the nature of the bank’s trading activity. Although the firm obtained a contractual representation from a broker-dealer based in Switzerland that it maintained a U.S.-compliant AML program, the firm and Miller did not meaningfully assess whether this was true. The suspension is in effect from December 2, 2019, through March 2, 2020. (FINRA Case #2014040476901)”
C L King & Associates (CRD# 6183) (SEC# 8-17025)
As of April 4, 2020, C L King & Associates’s FINRA BrokerCheck Report contains the following:
7 Regulatory Event Disclosures
2 Arbitration Disclosures
1 Bond Disclosures
Main Office Location
NINE ELK STREET
ALBANY, NY 12207
UNITED STATES
Mailing Address
NINE ELK STREET
ALBANY, NY 12207
UNITED STATES
Business Telephone Number
518-431-3555
Direct Owners and Executive Officers
WEIR, CANDACE KING (CRD#:269796), PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR, CEO
WEIR, AMELIA FARLEY (CRD#:1497338), SHAREHOLDER
WEIR, KATHERINE BROUSSARD (CRD#:1497339), SHAREHOLDER
BENTON, ROBERT ALBERT (CRD#:4378310), CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, DIRECTOR, PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER, PRINCIPAL OPERATIONS OFFICER
GIMON, RICHARD JAMES (CRD#:3217139), CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER, MANAGING DIRECTORNINE
FINRA requires brokerage firms to conduct due diligence on investments and to conduct a suitability analysis when recommending securities to a customer that takes into account the customer’s knowledge and experience. Brokerage firms that fail to conduct adequate due diligence or that make unsuitable recommendations can be held responsible for the customer’s losses in a FINRA arbitration claim.
If you suffered losses investing with C L King & Associates and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
This information is all publicly available and is being provided to you by Galvin Legal, PLLC.
Galvin Legal, PLLC is a national securities arbitration, securities mediation, securities litigation, securities fraud, securities regulation and compliance, and investor protection law practice. For more information on Galvin Legal, PLLC and its representation of investors, please visit www.galvinlegal.com or call 1-800-405-5117.
