The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the possible misconduct of former securities broker Timothy Ayre. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Timothy Ayre has been the subject of a FINRA sanction.
Timothy Ayre was a Massachusetts based securities broker. He worked in the the securities industry for twenty-five 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
- Merrill Lynch (1990-1994)
- A.G. Edwards & Sons (1994-1997)
- Northeast Securities (1997-1999)
- Jera Securities (1999-2013)
- Spencer Edwards (2013-2016)
- Four Points Capital Partners (2016)
The Allegations
Timothy Ayre was officially sanctioned by FINRA in September 2018. The findings in this matter state that he made material misstatements about his worthless public company to try and attract public investments in it. Timothy Ayre allegedly misrepresented what the actual business was as well as inflated the company’s assets and worth. Timothy Ayre, allegedly, knowingly marketed this investment as valued much higher than it actually was in an attempt to attract a capital influx that would increase it to the originally misstated value. In addition to the allegations of making material misrepresentations and omissions, Timothy Ayre never registered this security with the SEC and was thus engaging in private securities transactions without disclosing it to his member firm. Due to these allegations, Timothy Ayre was barred by FINRA from acting as a securities broker in any fashion. He had been terminated from his position at Spencer Edwards a year and a half prior when the allegations first came to light.
What Does This Mean?
Securities brokers, like Timothy Ayre, are required to disclose all relevant information honestly to customers when they are pitching investments to them. When a securities broker leaves out information when describing an investment to a potential investor it is referred to as omission. When a broker gives falsified information to an investor it is referred to as misrepresentation. The reason that misrepresentation and omission are such serious allegations is because they can lead to investors purchasing securities they would not have otherwise purchased had they known all of the information accurately. Misrepresentation and omission can occur through the broker’s own negligence or with fraudulent intent, as was allegedly the case with Timothy Ayre.
Timothy Ayre allegedly engaged in fraudulent behavior to try and solicit funds for his company. He believed that the ends justified the means, because if he could solicit the necessary funds to raise the company’s value to what he previously stated it was, then he technically would not have lied. What it boils down to is that Timothy Ayre allegedly solicited funds under false pretenses–the very definition of fraud. Brokers guilty of fraud act as a sort of boogey man to other investors as it makes them weary of trusting securities brokers with their hard earned money.
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 Timothy Ayre, 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.
