The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Bradley Tennison. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Bradley Tennison has been the subject of multiple customer disputes all in connection with a private security called “The Joseph Project.”
Bradley Tennison was an Arizona based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for twenty-nine years. During his career, he was registered with six different securities firms. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.
His Registrations
- Boettcher & Company (1989-1990)
- Kemper Securities Group (1990-1992)
- D.E. Frey & Company (1992-2000)
- First Allied Securities (2000-2004)
- Oberlin Financial (2004-2005)
- Geneos Wealth Management (2005-2018)
The Allegations
In April 2018, a customer alleged that Bradley Tennison recommended to her that she wire $300,000 to an investment known as “The Joseph Project.” Tennison allegedly claimed that this was a twelve month investment with a 5% enhancement. The customer allegedly received no statements or return on principal. This case is currently pending. She is requesting damages, interest, and attorney’s fees coming out to a total of $800,000.
When this first complaint against Bradley Tennison was filed, his member firm looked for any record of the investment, but found none. Due to the allegations, he was terminated from Geneos Wealth Management. After allegedly failing to comply with a FINRA investigation into the matter, he was subsequently barred from acting as a securities broker in any fashion.
Following Bradley Tennison’s termination and being barred from the securities industry, four additional claims were filed against Geneos Wealth Management due to his alleged involvement in “The Joseph Project.” The customers in these cases all claim that “The Joseph Project” was a fraudulent investment that Bradley Tennison used to misappropriate their funds.
- A case filed in October 2018 was settled for $400,000.
- A case filed in January 2019 is currently pending. The customer is seeking 1.3 million in damages.
- A case filed in April 2019 is currently pending. The customers are seeking approximately $4.5 million in damages.
- A case filed in December 2019 is currently pending. The customer is seeking $600,000 in damages.
The Joseph Project
The Joseph Project was a private placement that was managed by Bradley Tennison. Private placements are privately traded securities that are poorly regulated. This is due to the fact that they are not traded on any public securities exchanges. They are also not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This creates a significant potential for oversight when dealing with these products. Securities brokers like Bradley Tennison exploit this as it allows them to misrepresent private placements as safe investments.
One of the major problems associated with trading private placements is how frequently they are recommended to investors that are not financially suited for them. Securities brokers who recommend private placements to member firm customers often do so out of a conflict of interest. Sometimes, brokers will recommend private securities because they are receiving cash kickbacks from a third party, or they will recommend these securities because of the excessively high commissions they receive when doing so, or they will recommend a private placement that they themselves have a financial stake in–which, according to the allegations, was the case with The Joseph Project.
Private placements in general are speculative and illiquid investments that are unsuitable for most investors; however, “The Joseph Project” took it to a fraudulent level. Bradley Tennison allegedly set up this private placement trust to convert customer funds. He allegedly told investors intimate details about the security and described step by step how their money would be invested. Despite this, there was no record that the investment actually existed. There were no financial statements or any ongoing communication with Bradley Tennison. Most fraudulent investment schemes involve the perpetrating party creating falsified financial documents to keep the scheme going. Bradley Tennison, on the other hand, allegedly just took their money.
Oakes & Fosher Can Help
Many investors are unaware of the legal recourse available to them after losing money due to securities broker fraud and/or negligence. The truth is that investors who have lost money in this fashion may actually be entitled to damages.
Oakes & Fosher dedicates its entire legal practice to helping investors across the nation. If you, or someone you know, have lost money investing with Bradley Tennison, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation. Oakes & Fosher handles cases on a contingency basis, which means there are no fees charged unless we collect for you.
