The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Dennis Hayes. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Dennis Hayes has been the subject of of multiple customer disputes.
Dennis Hayes was a New York-based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for thirteen years. During his career, he was registered with eight different securities firms. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.
His Registrations
- AAL Capital Management Corporation (2001-2002)
- Veravest Investments (2003)
- Equity Services (2003-2005)
- MML Investors Services (2005-2006)
- Capital Investment Group (2006-2009)
- NFP Securities (2009-2010)
- Newbridge Securities Corporation (2010-2016)
- Salomon Whitney Financial (2017)
The Allegations
- In August 2016, a customer alleged that Dennis Hayes participated in the sale of unregistered securities, breached his fiduciary duty, and made fraudulent misrepresentations. This case was settled for $120,000 in damages.
- In June 2017, customers alleged that Dennis Hayes recommended unsuitable securities and executed unauthorized transactions in their accounts. This case was settled for $212,500 in damages.
- In July 2017, more customers alleged that Dennis Hayes invested them in unsuitable securities. This case was settled for $30,000 in damages.
- In December 2017, a customer alleged that Dennis Hayes managed their account negligently and over-concentrated their account in unsuitable investments. This case was settled for $760,000 in damages.
- In April 2018, a customer alleged that he was improperly and negligently advised by Dennis Hayes on several investments. This case was settled for $26,250 in damages.
- In November 2018, a customer alleged that Dennis Hayes recommended unsuitable investments, made material misrepresentations and omissions, managed their account negligently, violated FINRA rules, and engaged in selling away. This case was settled for $112,500 in damages.
- In January 2019, Dennis Hayes was officially sanctioned by FINRA. The findings in this matter state that he took part in private securities transactions by recommending to investors, most of whom were member firm customers, to invest a grand total of $2.7 million in securities issued by privately held companies. After one of the companies filed bankruptcy, and the others ceased operations, the investors suffered losses of at least $2.3 million. Due to these alleged actions, Dennis Hayes was barred from acting as a securities broker in any fashion.
What Does This Mean?
Securities brokers are not allowed to engage in these types of private securities transactions without first obtaining member firm approval. That is because these types of investments can prove very harmful to investors. It is the securities firm’s job to prevent their customers from being harmed in this fashion. However, firms are not absolved from liability simply because a broker forgoes this procedure of obtaining authorization. Firms need to have adequate supervision in place designed to monitor brokers and prevent them from engaging in any unauthorized activities.
These types of private investments can be unbelievably harmful to investors because of how poorly they are regulated. These securities do not trade on public exchanges which means there is a significant lack of oversight associated with these investments. Many brokers use this to their advantage as it allows them to misrepresent these private securities as safe and lucrative to unsuspecting investors. In truth, these alternative investments are incredibly speculative and illiquid and are accompanied by incredibly high fees that drastically drain investor principals. They can also be fronts for fraudulent activity.
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 Dennis Hayes, 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.
