The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the possible misconduct of former securities broker Steven Coffey. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Steven Coffey has been the subject of a FINRA sanction.
Steven Coffey was most recently a Maryland based securities broker. Before that, he was an Ohio based broker. He worked in the securities industry for eleven 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
- AXA Advisors (2001-2002)
- NYLife Securities (2002-2005)
- Nationwide Securities (2005-2009)
- MML Investors Services (2010-2011)
- First America Securities (2013-2015)
- American Portfolios Financial (2017-2018)
The Allegations
Steven Coffey was officially sanctioned by FINRA in July 2018. This was due to allegations that he failed to comply with a FINRA investigation into specific promissory notes that Steven Coffey sold to customers while registered with a FINRA member firm. Due to these allegations, he was barred by FINRA from acting as a securities broker in any fashion.
Promissory Notes
Promissory notes are contracts between two parties in which one party “promises” the other party a certain amount of money to be returned to them in exchange for a loan. Promissory notes are incredibly risky investments that are often misrepresented as safe. While the stated value of these investments does not necessarily fluctuate with the value of the investment, if the issuing company fails and defaults on the notes, then the notes are completely worthless. This is unfortunately entirely possible as these notes are usually only offered by speculative private companies looking to expand in some fashion.
These promissory notes can also just be fronts for a broker’s fraudulent behavior. Sometimes, a less than scrupulous broker will issue fraudulent notes and then divert the invested funds to their personal accounts–with no intention of ever paying them back. Brokers see these notes as a good tool for this as investors will not have the need to be constantly worried about an investment’s value–as they are “promised” back an amount that was predetermined.
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 Steven Coffey, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation.
