FINRA fined and suspended William Henry Watson III, the former Vice President of Corporate Finance at Finance 500, Inc. in Irvine, California, for purportedly participating in securities offerings with four issuers while using marketing materials that were not fair and balanced and made misleading or unwarranted statements.
The investigation states that the misleading marketing materials specifically failed to disclose each of the four issuers' poor financial performance and that some of the material failed to disclose Finance 500's name and involvement in the securities offering.
The report states that as Vice President, Watson worked to sell securities on behalf of companies that needed financing. Through this role, Watson allegedly allowed for the use of misleading, unfair and unbalanced marketing materials to sell some of these securities, and sent these violative presentations to retail customers through e-mail and telephone communications.
FINRA referred to a particular series of powerpoint presentations that contained "inadequate risk disclosure" and a similar lack of disclosure related to the issuers' negative financial performance. Investigators described other presentations as "exaggerated," "unsupported," and "not accurate."
If you have invested with William Henry Watson III, Finance 500, or with any broker or financial adviser whose misleading marketing or sales materials—such as those with unwarranted exaggerations or inadequate disclosure of risk or negative financial performance—have proven harmful to your investments or interests, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.