Oakes & Fosher has filed an arbitration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against Centaurus Financial due to alleged actions undertaken by registered securities broker Troy Tremblay. This complaint was filed on behalf of an elderly couple. In addition to this recently filed claim, Troy Tremblay’s publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report shows that he has received multiple customer complaints over the course of his career.
Troy Tremblay is presently working as a California based securities broker. He has worked in the securities industry for sixteen years. During his career, he was registered with just two different securities firms.
His Registrations
- Washington Square Securities (2003)
- Centaurus Financial (2003-Present)
The Allegations
Oakes & Fosher filed its complaint against Centaurus Financial regarding the alleged actions by Troy Tremblay in November 2017. Troy Tremblay’s father, Timothy Tremblay, was heavily involved in handling the customers’ account, however, Troy Tremblay was the registered broker on record for the couple. According to the investors, they had made it very clear to the Tremblays that they wanted a very modest investment strategy. Despite this, almost all of the couple’s principal had allegedly been invested in privately traded alternative investments like non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) and direct participation programs (DPPs). The allegations levied against Troy Tremblay in this case include breach of fiduciary duty, violation of California’s Securities Act, common law fraud, breach of contract, misrepresentation, and omission of material facts. While this case is currently pending, the customers are seeking $1.5 million in damages.
Alternative Investments
Alternative investments are privately traded investment funds not sold on any public securities exchanges. Due to their private nature, these products have a very distinct lack of oversight that normally helps regulate securities. Less than scrupulous securities brokers might use this lack of oversight as an opportunity to misrepresent alternative investments as safe and consistently lucrative –which is completely false. The truth is that alternative investments are speculative and illiquid investments accompanied by extremely high cost structures. The reason that these products are so ferociously recommended despite their unsuitable nature is due to the excessively high commissions brokers receive when the transactions are executed. Broker commissions for these products can be as high as ten percent. These commissions compounded with other upfront fees can lower an investor’s principal of up to 17 percent. When an investor’s principal is lowered this significantly before any money is actually put toward the investment, it becomes near impossible for them to see any investment returns under anything other than a booming market.
How can Oakes & Fosher 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 Troy or Timothy Tremblay, 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.
