Leslie Koonce denied involvement in private securities transactions

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the regulator has barred former LPL broker Leslie Koonce for misrepresenting his involvement in the sale of private securities.

Koonce reportedly participated in several private securities transactions between January and June 2012, allegedly soliciting at least 30 prospective investors for convertible promissory notes offered by a private company.

FINRA alleges that Koonce helped move $175,000 for three LPL customers so they could make investments in the convertible promissory notes. Additionally, Koonce invested $50,000 of his own money in the promissory notes.

FINRA further claims that Koonce broke the rules by not providing LPL with prior written notice of his participation in the transactions. He reportedly lied on compliance questionnaires in May 2012 and November 2012 and denied having participated in any private securities transactions.

According to Koonce’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, he was registered with LPL Financial in Menlo Park, CA from September 2009 until he was discharged in December 2015. Afterwards, he worked briefly with Cetera and EK Riley Investments. Koonce has six disclosure events listed on his Broker Report. He is no longer employed in the securities business.

For FINRA’s full findings see FINRA case # 2015048088401.

Failure to Supervise

Brokerage firms are required to adequately supervise their advisors. They must ensure they are complying with FINRA rules.

When brokers abuse client accounts and conduct transactions that violate securities laws, the brokerage firm they are working with may be liable for investment losses. Brokerage firms that fail to monitor the business activities of their employees may be liable for investment losses due to negligent supervision for the misconduct of their employees.

The brokerage firms can be held responsible for any losses in a FINRA arbitration claim if it is determined that they failed to properly supervise their agent.

Free Consultation

Did you suffer losses investing with Leslie Koonce? If so, the attorneys at The White Law Group may be able to help you to recover your losses. For a free consultation, please call (888) 637-5510.

The foregoing information, which is all publicly available, is being provided by The White Law Group.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Franklin, Tennessee. For more information, please visit our website, www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.