Financial West Group Nailed for Private Placement

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently brought a regulatory action against Financial West Group, a California-based securities brokerage firm. FINRA alleged that the firm failed to provide adequate procedures to perform due diligence on private placements. This misconduct occurred between October 2008 and June 2015. FINRA alleged that Financial West Group’s written supervisory procedures failed to address many elements of a firm’s due diligence process for private placements and Financial West paid a $40,000 fine to settle the allegations. Private placements are securities sold to a relatively small number of select investors as a way of raising capital. Usually these investors are large banks, mutual funds, insurance companies and pension funds. They are not for sale on the open market to any type of investor. A complaint was also brought against Gene C. Valentine, the firm’s Chairman and CEO. FINRA alleged that Valentine allowed a statutory disqualified individual to act as a registered representative of the firm. He paid a $10,000 fine and was suspended from the industry in a principal capacity for 30 days. If you would like to find out how to sue Financial West Group for private placement violations and investment losses, please call our securities law firm today. We may be able to help you bring a claim against them to recover your losses.