James Heafner Allegedly Invests Customers In Unregistered Securities Away From His Member Firm

Former securities broker, James Heafner, is currently being investigated by the law firm of Oakes & Fosher for possible negligence and/or misconduct. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, James Heafner received multiple complaints over the course of his career from a variety of different customers.

James Heafner is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion. He worked in the securities industry for ten years. During his career, he worked primarily at securities firms based in Charlotte, North Carolina. During his career, he was registered with five different securities firms.

Registrations

• Park Avenue Securities (2004-2005)


• Capital Investment Group (2005-2007)


• Southeast Investments, N.C., Inc. (2007)


• KCD Financial (2008-2009)


• Taylor Capital Management Inc. (2011-2018)

Allegations

• In November 2018, a customer filed a claim alleging that James Heafner recommended that they invest in an unregistered security known as 1st Global Capital. The customer further alleged that this security was highly unsuitable for them based upon their previously stated investment objectives. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $130,000 in damages.


• In December 2018, James Heafner received another complaint from a customer alleging he recommended they invest in the unregistered and unsuitable 1st Global Capital. This case is also currently pending. The customer is seeking $268,015 in damages.


• In February 2019, a customer alleged that James Heafner recommended they invest $100,000 in 1st Global Notes. This alleged recommendation was highly unsuitable given the customer's previously stated investment objectives. The customer further alleged failure to disclose material facts, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and gross negligence. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $100,000 in damages.

What Does This Mean?

Securities brokers are not allowed to invest their customers in private, unregistered securities without first obtaining authorization to do so from their member firm. Some securities brokers will circumvent this process due significant conflicts of interest created by these private products. Often times, brokers will recommend these securities because they themselves have a financial stake in the product, because they are receiving cash kickbacks from a third party, or simply because of the excessively large commissions they receive when doing so. These motivations can cause less than scrupulous brokers to recommend these types of products to investors that are woefully unsuited for them. It is the securities firm's responsibility to prevent investors from being harmed by these types of investments. They are not absolved from liability simply because the broker does not communicate their intent to engage in these private transactions. Securities firms are required to have adequate procedures in place designed to supervise brokers and prevent them from engaging in any unauthorized and potentially harmful activities.

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 James Heafner, 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.