Over the last 12 years, Oakes & Fosher has tried and won more FINRA arbitration cases on behalf of individual investors than any other law firm in the country.

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The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Leslie Koonce. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Leslie Koonce has been the subject of a FINRA sanction.

Leslie Koonce was a California based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for thirty-two 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

  • Hornor, Townsend & Kent (1984-1998)
  • Main Street Management Company (1999-2004)
  • Associated Securities (2004-2009)
  • LPL Financial (2009-2015)
  • Cetera Advisor Networks (2015)
  • EK Riley Investments (2015-2017)

The Allegations

Leslie Koonce was officially sanctioned by FINRA in December 2017. The findings in this matter state that he solicited at least thirty prospective investors, several of which were customers of his member firm, to purchase convertible promissory notes offered by a private company. According to the FINRA findings, Leslie Koonce denied his involvement in these transactions to his member firm. Due to these alleged actions, Leslie Koonce was barred by FINRA from acting as a securities broker in any fashion.

What Does This Mean?

Securities brokers are not allowed to engage in private securities transactions without first disclosing the extent of their involvement to their member firm. This is because securities brokers who recommend privately traded securities to investors often do so with ulterior motives. Securities brokers might recommend securities to investors that they have a financial stake in, or recommend securities because they are receiving cash kickbacks from a third party, or simply recommend securities because they receive an incredibly high commission when the transaction is executed. These types of motivations can often cause brokers to recommend these types of investments to investors that are woefully unsuited for them.

In addition, the promissory notes that Leslie Koonce was allegedly recommending to his customers are very rarely suitable for investors. These notes are contracts issued by a private company to an investor in exchange for a loan. They are usually issued by very speculative private companies looking to expand in some way. Many investors are tricked into believing that these notes are safer than purchasing equity as they are contractually promised a certain amount of money back. However, the speculative nature of these private companies can very easily lead to them failing and defaulting on the notes. Promissory notes can also be used for fraudulent purposes. A broker, or company, may issue fraudulent notes from a fictitious, or real, company without any intention of ever repaying them. The customer’s money is then diverted somewhere else and used for other purposes.

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 Leslie Koonce, 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.