The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Dale Wright. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Dale Wright has been the subject of multiple customer disputes.
Dale Wright was a Virginia based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for twenty-seven 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
- First American National Securities (1983-1989)
- Centennial Capital Management (1998-1999)
- National Planning Corporation (1999-2005)
- QA3 Financial Corp. (2005-2008)
- Sanders Morris Harris (2008-2011)
- Cambridge Investment Research (2011-2019)
The Allegations
- In April 2005, a customer alleged that Dale Wright recommended unsuitable investments. This case was settled for $125,000 in damages.
- In February 2015, a customer alleged that Dale Wright misrepresented a life insurance policy and that this policy was highly unsuitable. This case was settled for $12,700 in damages.
- In June 2015, customers alleged that Dale Wright damaged them by selling them an unsuitable life insurance policy. This case was settled for $50,000 in damages.
- In March 2017, a customer alleged that Dale Wright violated the Virginia Securities Act, breached his fiduciary duty, handled their account negligently, and breached contract related to life insurance policies. This case was settled for $70,000 in damages.
- In January 2018, customers alleged that Dale Wright recommended they purchase unsuitable life insurance policies and unsuitably borrow against said policies. Wright also allegedly recommended the customers refinance their home and invest the additional funds received from doing so. This case was settled for $190,000 in damages.
- In June 2018, more customers alleged that Dale Wright unsuitably recommended they leverage their home equity to purchase more insurance policies. He also allegedly recommended the customers borrow against the policies to purchase equities. This case was settled for $65,000 in damages.
- In September 2018, customers alleged that they also experienced damages due to this highly unsuitable investment strategy. This case was settled for $27,500 in damages.
- In January 2019, a customer alleged that Dale Wright violated the Virginia Securities Act, engaged in fraud, made negligent representations, breached his fiduciary duty, and recommended unsuitable investments. This case was settled for $40,000 in damages.
- In July 2019, Dale Wright was sanctioned by the Commonwealth of Virginia State Corporation Commission Bureau of Insurance. This was due to the above mentioned allegations of advising customers they unsuitably borrow against life insurance policies to invest in equities. Due to these alleged actions, Wright was fined $50,000 and forced to pay $16,300 in restitution.
What Does This Mean?
According to the above mentioned allegations, Dale Wright allegedly engaged in a very predatory investment scheme. He, allegedly, purposefully targeted individuals to purchase these unsuitable life insurance policies and then borrow against these policies to invest in actual equities. Wright allegedly placed these investors in an overly complex trading strategy that had additional, unnecessary steps to it–most likely in an attempt to increase the amount he would receive in commissions. The unnecessary fees charged to investors in a scheme like this would cause the investors’ principal investments to deteriorate and prevent them from seeing their desired returns. Dale Wright also allegedly recommended that some of these investors pull equity from their homes to purchase these unsuitable insurance policies. Not only is this another step that causes investors to incur financial losses, but advising that an investor risk their home is never suitable under any circumstances. An investor’s home has value far beyond what it is monetarily worth and can often be the one thing they can fall back on after losing all other assets.
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 Dale Wright, 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.