The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of Roger Owens. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Roger Owens has been the subject of a FINRA sanction.
Roger Owens operated most recently as a Maryland based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for twenty-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
- Banner Financial Services Group (1993-1995)
- Fortis Investors (1994-1997)
- Uvest Financial Services Group (1997-2005)
- Legacy Financial Services (2005-2007)
- Cetera Advisors (2007-2019)
The Allegations
Roger Owens was officially sanctioned by FINRA in August 2019. The findings in this matter state that Owens engaged in private securities transactions outside his member firm’s scope without first disclosing his involvement to, or seeking approval from, said member firm. Roger Owens allegedly solicited member firm customers to purchase promissory notes of a private investment known as a non-trade real estate investment trust, or REIT. Owens allegedly sold these investors $1,170,000 in promissory notes. As his compensation for executing these trades, Owens allegedly received just shy of $60,000 in commissions. This fund later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it was a highly unsuitable investment that should not have been recommended to these customers. Due to these alleged actions, Roger Owens was fined $10,000, forced to repay the $60,000 in disgorgement, and suspended from acting as a securities broker in any fashion for a period of one year. He had been terminated from his position at Cetera Advisors the previous April due to the allegations.
What Does This Mean?
Securities brokers are not alleged to engage in private securities transactions without first disclosing the extent of their involvement to their member firm. This is because these types of transactions can often create significant conflicts of interest for securities brokers. Less than scrupulous securities brokers might begin recommending private investments because they have a financial stake in that investment, because they are receiving cash incentives from a third party, or simply because they receive a higher than average commission when the transaction is executed. The problem is that these types of motivations can lead to brokers recommending securities to investors that are not financially suited for them. Securities firms want to prevent this from happening and thus require their registered brokers to disclose their involvement in private securities transactions prior to engagement. This allows firms the chance to determine if an actual conflict of interest exists or if any investor might be harmed by the broker’s actions.
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 Roger Owens, 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.
