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The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Larry Fawcett. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Larry Fawcett has been the subject of multiple customer disputes.

Larry Fawcett was a California based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for five 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

  • EKN Financial Services (2012)
  • Rockwell Global Capital (2012-2013)
  • John Thomas Financial (2013)
  • Salomon Whitney Financial (2013-2015)
  • Westpark Capital (2015-2018)

The Allegations

  • In November 2014, a customer alleged that Larry Fawcett executed unauthorized trades and engaged in an unauthorized use of margin. This case was settled for $30,000 in damages.
  • Larry Fawcett was officially sanctioned by FINRA in December 2017. The findings in this matter state that he recommended unsuitable mutual fund transactions to one of his customers. Due to these alleged actions, he was fined $2,500, forced to pay $22,714 in disgorgement, and suspended from acting as a securities broker in any fashion for fifteen business days.
  • In March 2018, Larry Fawcett was terminated from his position at WestPark Capital. This followed allegations that he conducted business from a non-disclosed location and made false representations to the firm.
  • Larry Fawcett was officially sanctioned by FINRA once again in April 2018. Due to an alleged failure to comply with an investigation into him allegedly engaging in outside business activities. Due to this alleged failure to comply, he was barred by FINRA from acting as a securities broker in any fashion.
  • In April 2018, a customer alleged that Larry Fawcett churned their account, handled their account negligently and unsuitably, breached contract, and executed trades without their authorization. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $260,038 in damages.
  • In May 2018, a customer alleged that Larry Fawcett churned their account and executed unsuitable transactions. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $33,271 in damages.

What Does This Mean?

One of the most notable allegations levied against Larry Fawcett was that he churned his customers’ accounts. This a fraudulent trading practice that originates from the method that securities brokers are compensated for their services. Essentially, securities brokers charge their customers a percentage of their principal investment whenever they execute a transaction on their behalf. This percentage is the broker’s commission for brokering the trade. The way that securities brokers increase their income as their career progresses is different than other occupations. As their skills and experience as a broker grow, so will the quantity and quality of investors that trust them with their money. As the amount they are investing grows, so do their commissions. However, there are some securities brokers, like Larry Fawcett, who wish to circumvent this natural progression and work to increase their commissions through more fraudulent means–such as churning. This fraudulent trading practice occurs when a securities broker trades an investor’s account excessively with the express purpose of increasing the amount they receive in commissions. This is done at the investor’s expense because this type of trading often causes them to experience signficant losses. This is because excessive trading not only prevents their investments from seeing any sort of growth, but also causes the customer to incur substantial fees that rack up and cause their principal investment to significantly deteriorate.

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 Larry Fawcett, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation. We work on a contingency basis, which means there are no fees charged unless we collect for you.