Securities Lawyers Blog
The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that Broker Christopher Christensen (Christensen) has been accused by investors of engaging in fraudulent misappropriation of their funds. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), it appears that Christensen was employed by Airlink Markets, LLC at the time of the activity. If you have been a victim of Christensen’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint on January 13, 2025.
Christensen was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he failed to provide documents and information requested by FINRA on two occasions as part of its examination of his OBAs and private securities transactions. The complaint alleges that FINRA opened a cause examination after the parent company of Christensen’s member firm declared bankruptcy. Christensen was the founder and chief executive officer of the company. The company, through various subsidiaries, raised millions of dollars from thousands of investors purportedly to invest in real estate projects. Christensen’s role with the company was disclosed on his Form U4. The complaint also alleges that Christensen failed to appear for testimony requested by FINRA on two occasions as part of its examination. After receiving the first requests for documents and information and to appear for testimony, Christensen’s counsel submitted a letter to FINRA requesting an indefinite stay of its examination pending the conclusion of other proceedings related to Christensen’s conduct. FINRA denied Christensen’s counsel’s request for a stay. Christensen’s failure to provide documents and information and to provide testimony significantly impeded FINRA’s examination and deprived it of material information regarding his alleged OBAs and private securities transactions.
We specialize in representing victims of fraud when financial advisors take loans from clients or facilitate securities transactions through OBAs. In the financial industry, “selling away” refers to the sale of unapproved investment products, fake schemes that conceal stolen funds, and other fraudulent activities, representing a significant violation of securities regulations. The term “selling away” in the industry refers to financial advisors promoting investments in businesses, promissory notes, or securities that their affiliated brokerage firm has not approved. While some of these investments may have a degree of legitimacy, they often turn out to be Ponzi schemes or involve advisors misappropriating funds.
However, federal securities laws and the FINRA rules require firms to monitor and supervise its employees in order to detect and prevent brokers from offering investments in this fashion. Firms are required to have protocols in place to oversee their brokers by tracking each advisor’s activities and public interactions. Selling away misconduct often occurs where brokerage firms either fail to put in place a reasonable supervisory system or fail to actually implement that system. Supervisory failures allow brokers to engage in unsupervised misconduct that can include all manner improper conduct including selling away.
In cases of selling away the investor is unaware that the advisor’s investments are improper. In many of these cases the investor will not learn that the broker’s activities were wrongful until after the investment scheme is publicized, the broker is fired or charged by law enforcement, or stops returning client calls altogether.
Christensen has been in the securities industry for more than 1 year. Christensen has been registered as a Broker with Airlink Markets, LLC since 2023.
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.