Did you lose money investing with Richard Wesselt (CRD# 2195569)?
Galvin Legal, PLLC is launching an investigation on behalf of investors who may have suffered losses investing with Richard Wesselt. If you suffered losses investing with Richard Wesselt, then Galvin Legal, PLLC may be able to help you recover your losses in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA“) arbitration claim.
If you suffered losses and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
As of March 28, 2023, Richard Wesselt’s FINRA BrokerCheck Report contains the following:
BARRED: FINRA has barred this individual from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with a broker-dealer firm.
Disclosure Events
28 Customer Disputes
3 Regulatory Events
1 Employment Separation After Allegations
November 9, 2020 – An AWC was issued in which Wesselt was barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities. Without admitting or denying the findings, Wesselt consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he made unsuitable recommendations to customers to purchase a variable annuity. The findings stated that these recommendations were inconsistent with the customers’ investment profiles, including their time horizon, liquidity needs and risk tolerance. Wesselt recommended that his customers liquidate their retirement savings that they often held in qualified, tax- deferred accounts such as 401(k)s or individual retirement accounts (IRAs). As a result, the customers lost benefits associated with their 401(k)s, including services such as access to investment advice, telephone help lines, educational materials and workshops. In addition, Wesselt recommended that customers purchase a variable annuity with funds liquidated from their retirement plans. After the variable annuity was issued, Wesselt recommended customers take early withdrawals, causing them to lose benefits associated with the variable annuity and incur surrender charges. These unsuitable recommendations caused the customers to incur surrender charges of $378,452. The customers were subjected to costly fees and penalties, forfeiture of expected benefits, lapsed or cancelled policies and the depletion or complete loss of their retirement savings. Wesselt, by contrast, earned commissions of $686,025 from the sale of the variable annuities. The findings also stated that by directing his employees to have customers sign blank or incomplete forms, Wesselt caused his member firm to create and maintain inaccurate books and records. The forms included, among others, new account agreements and variable annuity withdrawal request forms. Wesselt directed his employees to send or provide partial documents or forms, or signature pages, to customers with instructions to sign and return the document. The forms were then completed by Wesselt or his employees and submitted to the firm or the variable annuity company for processing. As a result of this practice, many of Wesselt’s customers did not have the opportunity to read important disclosures regarding their variable annuities, and thus were unaware of the features, costs and risks associated with these products. Similarly, blank variable annuity withdrawal forms provided no information about the amount of the withdrawal, the withholding of taxes, or surrender fees. (FINRA Case #2018059035701)
Current and Previous Registrations
09/05/2017 – 11/09/2020 FORTUNE FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. (CRD#:42150) Collegeville, PA
03/14/2014 – 09/06/2017 THE O.N. EQUITY SALES COMPANY (CRD#:2936) Collegeville, PA
05/15/2002 – 03/26/2014 STERNE AGEE FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. (CRD#:18456) JEFFERSONVILLE, PA
04/30/1997 – 05/15/2002 AMERICAN INVESTMENT SERVICES, INC. (CRD#:21111) OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
FINRA expelled the firm on 02/13/2003
05/23/1994 – 03/25/1997 W. S. GRIFFITH & CO., INC. (CRD#:10410) HARTFORD, CT
08/18/1992 – 05/12/1994 PML SECURITIES COMPANY (CRD#:4082) NEWARK, DE
If you suffered losses and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
Due Diligence Requirement
FINRA requires broker’s 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. FINRA Rule 2111(a) states that “a member or an associated person must have a reasonable basis to believe that a recommended transaction or investment strategy involving a security or securities is suitable for the customer, based on the information obtained through the reasonable diligence of the member or associated person to ascertain the customer’s investment profile. A customer’s investment profile includes, but is not limited to, the customer’s age, other investments, financial situation and needs, tax status, investment objectives, investment experience, investment time horizon, liquidity needs, risk tolerance, and any other information the customer may disclose to the member or associated person in connection with such recommendation.”
Rule 2111 is composed of three main obligations: reasonable-basis suitability, customer-specific suitability, and quantitative suitability. Brokers and the brokerage firms they work for that fail to conduct adequate due diligence on investments they recommend or that make unsuitable recommendations can be held responsible for the customer’s losses in a FINRA arbitration claim.
If you suffered losses and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
Request a Free Consultation with a Securities Attorney
If you suffered losses investing with Richard Wesselt 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.
