According to BrokerCheck records financial advisor Jesse Krapf (Krapf), currently employed by Benchmark Investments, Inc. (Benchmark Investments) has been subject to at least one customer complaint and two debt related judgements or tax liens. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), most of Krapf’s customer complaints allege that Krapf made was negligent and breached his fiduciary duty to the customer.
In October 2018 a customer filed a complaint alleging that Krapf violated the securities laws including negligence and breach of fiduciary duty causing $500,000 in damages. The claim is currently pending.
Krapf also has two unsatisfied debts including a $3,247 tax lien from May 2015. The fact that a broker cannot manage his own personal finances is material information for a client to consider. In addition, the types of products clients have alleged were unsuitable are high commission products that may be recommended to generate high profits for the advisor at the expense of the client.
Brokers are required under the securities laws to treat their clients fairly. This obligation includes the duties to disclose material risks of the investments they recommend and to present products, particularly complex or confusing products, in a fair and balanced manner that allows the client to evaluate the recommendation. Another important obligation advisors have is to make only suitable recommendations for investments to the client. There are many investments that are not appropriate for the majority of investors or for certain investors given their risk tolerance, age, and other factors. Advisors should not present these investment options to clients. There are two screens that advisors must employ to determine whether an investment is suitable for a client. First, there must be a reasonable basis for the recommendation – meaning that the product has been investigated and due diligence conducted into the investment’s features, benefits, risks, and other relevant factors. The advisor must conclude that the investment is suitable for at least some investors and some securities may be suitable for no one. Second, the broker then must match the investment as being appropriate for the customer’s specific investment needs and objectives such as the client’s retirement status, long or short term goals, age, disability, income needs, or any other relevant factor.
According to newsources, a study revealed that 7.3% of financial advisors had a customer complaint on their record when records from 2005 to 2015 were examined. Brokers must publicly disclose reportable events on their BrokerCheck reports that include customer complaints, IRS tax liens, judgments, investigations, terminations, and criminal cases. In addition, research has show a disturbing pattern with troublesome brokers where brokers with high numbers of customer complaints are not kicked out of the industry but instead these brokers are sifted to lower quality brokerage firms with loose hiring practices and higher rates of customer complaints. These lower quality firms may average brokers with five times as many complaints as the industry average.
Krapf entered the securities industry in 2008. Since then he has worked for an astonishing 10 different firms. Most recently, from January 2015 until March 2015 Krapf was registered with Columbus Advisory Group, Ltd. From February 2016 until February 2019 Krapf was associated with Newbridge Securities Corporation. Since February 2019 Krapf has been associated with Benchmark Investments out of the firm’s McDonough, Georgia office location.
Investors who have suffered losses are encouraged to contact us at (800) 810-4262 for consultation. At Gana Weinstein LLP, our attorneys are experienced representing investors who have suffered securities losses due to the mishandling of their accounts. Claims may be brought in securities arbitration before FINRA. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.