FINRA barred former WFG Investments and Securities America supervisor Willard Lee Golightly aka Bill Golightly for failing to adequately respond to "numerous red flags" that one of his brokers was engaged in unsuitable trading activity, including inappropriately concentrating customer accounts in low-priced securities such as penny stocks and speculative private placements, including real estate investment trusts (REITs).
According to the investigation, Golightly failed to observe and/or adequately respond to one of his subordinate's extensive and unsuitable trading activity that resulted in an 80% concentration level in low-priced, illiquid, and/or highly speculative private placement and REIT investments, regardless of the client's investment objectives and level of risk tolerance.
The FINRA report states that even when Golightly did notify his manager, he failed to fake any further action to address the potential sales violations. For example, when Golightly received an instruction to prohibit his subordinate broker from purchasing any more positions in one particular low-priced security, Golightly purportedly failed to enforce this restriction, in turn permitting the purchase of additional unsuitable shares in the prohibited product.
Golightly's BrokerCheck report indicates that after being discharged from WFG for failing to report a customer complaint, and resigning from Securities America after allegations he participated in transactions in violations of firm policies and procedures, Golightly migrated to SCF Securities, Inc. in Fresno, California. Golightly is presently listed as an employee of Kelly Compton Investments, LLC, located in San Antonio, Texas.
Among Golightly's 13 disclosures are customer complaints alleging unsuitable recommendations and investments in over-the-counter (OTC) products and penny stocks, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, misrepresentation, fraud, and negligence. Total alleged damages exceed $2 million.
If you have invested with Willard Lee "Bill" Golightly or with any broker or financial adviser whose excessive trading or over-concentration in penny stocks, REITs, OTC products or other speculative securities in contravention of your stated investment objectives or conservative risk tolerance has 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.