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.

*Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based alone on prior results.

AdobeStock 92679503

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

Mark Trewitt was a Texas-based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for twenty-four years. During his career, he was registered with ten different securities firms. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.

His Registrations

  • Sun Investment Services Company (1992-1997)
  • AIG Equity Sales Corp. (1997-1998)
  • Cadaret, Grant & Co. (1998)
  • Ogilvie Security Advisors Corporation (1998-2001, 2002-2004)
  • Walnut Street Securities (2001-2002)
  • Kalos Capital (2004-2006)
  • Madison Avenue Securities (2006-2010)
  • VFG Securities (2010-2017)
  • Niagra International Capital Limited (2017)

The Allegations

  • In September 2014, a customer alleged that Mark Trewitt misappropriated their investment. This case was settled for $25,000 in damages.
  • In February 2017, customers alleged that Mark Trewitt made unsuitable investment recommendations, over-concentrated their account in high-risk investments, and breached his fiduciary duty. This case was settled for $48,413 in damages.
  • In June 2017, customers alleged that Mark Trewitt acted negligently and breached his fiduciary duty. This case was settled for $200,000 in damages.
  • In June 2017, customers alleged that Mark Trewitt breached his fiduciary duty and breached contract with the customers. This case was settled for $20,000 in damages.
  • In August 2017, customers alleged that Mark Trewitt breached his fiduciary duty, breached contract with the customers, and handled their account negligently. This case was settled for $21,000 in damages.
  • Also in August 2017, a customer alleged that Mark Trewitt recommended unsuitable investments and made material misrepresentations. This case was settled for $63,453 in damages.
  • Also in August 2017, a customer alleged that Mark Trewitt recommended unsuitable investments and engaged in deceptive marketing practices. This case was settled for $100,896 in damages.
  • In March 2018, customers alleged that Mark Trewitt managed their account negligently and breached his fiduciary duty. This case was settled for $35,186 in damages.
  • In April 2018, a customer alleged that Mark Trewitt managed their account negligently and breached his fiduciary duty. This case was settled for $77,952 in damages. Trewitt became the subject of another complaint in April 2018 with identical allegations. This case was settled for $167,880 in damages.
  • Also in April 2018, a customer alleged that Mark Trewitt recommended unsuitable alternative investments and made material misrepresentations about said investments. This case was settled for $139,645 in damages.
  • Also in April 2018, a customer alleged that Mark Trewitt over-concentrated their portfolio in unsuitable, alternative investments. This case was settled for $101,576 in damages.
  • In May 2018, customers alleged that Mark Trewitt managed their account negligently and breached his fiduciary duty. This case was settled for $25,000 in damages.
  • In June 2018, a customer alleged that they experienced losses due to Mark Trewitt over-concentrating their portfolio in unsuitable, alternative investments. This case was settled for $25,000 in damages.
  • In July 2018, a customer alleged that Mark Trewitt breached his fiduciary duty, recommended unsuitable investments, and over-concentrated their account in illiquid, alternative investments. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $100,000 in damages.
  • In October 2018, a customer alleged that they experienced losses due to Mark Trewitt over-concentrating their account in unsuitable alternative investments. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $1,954,304 in damages.
  • In November 2019, a customer alleged that Mark Trewitt recommended highly unsuitable alternative investments and made material misrepresentations about said investments. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $150,000 in damages.

Alternative Investments

The term alternative investments is used to describe privately traded investments not sold on any public securities exchanges. Due to their private nature, there is a significant lack of oversight with these products that usually helps regulate equities traded publicly. Many less than scrupulous securities brokers will take advantage of this lack oversight as an opportunity to misrepresent these private products as safe and consistently lucrative to unsuspecting investors. The truth is that these products are speculative and illiquid investments with extremely high cost structures. The reason that these brokers recommend these products despite their unsuitability is due to the incredibly high commissions they receive when doing so. Broker commissions for these products can be as high as ten percent of the investor’s principal investment. This compounded with other upfront fees can drain an investor’s principal of up to 17 percent before any money is actually put toward the investment. When an investor’s principal is lowered that significantly, it becomes near impossible for them to see any investment returns under anything besides booming market conditions.

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 Mark Trewitt, 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.