Securities Lawyers Blog
Previously financial advisor James Kirchner (Kirchner), previously employed by brokerage firm Cabot Lodge Securities LLC has been subject to at least 5 disclosable events. These events include 4 customer complaints, one regulatory event. According to a BrokerCheck reports most of the recent customer complaints concern either corporate debt securities or alternative investments such as direct participation products (DPPs) like business development companies (BDCs), non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), oil & gas programs, annuities, and private placements. The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP have represented hundreds of investors who suffered losses caused by these types of high risk, low reward products.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on February 23, 2022.
Without admitting or denying the findings, Kirchner consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he falsified a document used in connection with the purchase of a private placement. The findings stated that when Kirchner submitted the customer’s documentation to his member firm for approval, the firm rejected the proposed purchase because the customer had initialed the document incorrectly. Subsequently, Kirchner altered that document with the intention of submitting it to the firm to complete the customer’s private placement purchase. Kirchner used his personal email address to send the original document to a third party, a person Kirchner knew could electronically alter the document for him. This third party received the document from Kirchner, and then altered it by moving the customer\\u2019s initials to the location that the firm required in order to approve the purchase. The third party altered the document at Kirchner’s request and sent it back to Kirchner using Kirchner’s personal email address. Kirchner then used his personal email to send the falsified document back to his firm email account. Kirchner’s use of his personal email account to communicate with the third party violated the firm\\u2019s written policy requiring that all business-related communications be conducted with firm-issued email addresses, and Kirchner did so in order to circumvent his firm’s supervisory review of his conduct. Although Kirchner did not submit the altered document to the firm, it identified his use of his personal email address and the falsification, and terminated Kirchner’s registration with the firm.
