The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Gene Esplin. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Gene Esplin has been the subject of a customer dispute.
Gene Esplin worked most recently as an Idaho based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for twenty years. During his career, he was registered with five different securities firms. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.
His Registrations
- Waddell & Reed (1998)
- ING Financial Partners (1998-2004)
- Cambridge Investment Research (2004-2008)
- Triad Advisors (2008-2015)
- Kalos Capital (2015-2019)
The Allegations
In December 2019, customers alleged that they purchased highly unsuitable alternative investments on Gene Esplin’s recommendation. This case is currently pending. The customers are seeking $1 million in damages.
Alternative Investments
The term “alternative investments” is used to describe securities that do not trade on public securities exchanges. Rather, they are investment pools recommended directly to investors. Due to their private nature, these securities are very poorly regulated. Less than scrupulous securities brokers often use this to their advantage as it provides them ample opportunity to misrepresent alternative investments as safe and lucrative. In reality, these types of investments are incredibly high-risk and illiquid products that are not suitable for most investors. They are also accompanied by significantly high fees that drain principal investments. Despite all this, some securities brokers continue to recommend them to unsuited investors due to the excessively high commissions they receive when the transaction is executed. These conflicts of interest cause these brokers to recommend these alternative products to investors that are woefully unsuited for them.
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 Gene Esplin, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation. We handle cases on a contingency basis, which means there are no fees charged unless we collect for you.