FINRA barred former Independent Financial Group broker Brian James Egan of the firm's Laguna Niguel, CA branch for failing to disclose 87 outside brokerage accounts he either owned, controlled, or held trading authority over at another FINRA member firm, also charging Egan with making misrepresentations on multiple compliance questionnaires over a five-year period ending in 2015.
According to the investigation, Egan (CRD #4527950), who also operates a CPA business out of Redondo Beach, controlled, held trading authority over, or owned a total of 87 brokerage accounts for himself and at least 60 customers at an outside firm while Egan was associated with Independent Financial Group. Egan purportedly did not notify the firm of his involvement in these 87 outside brokerage accounts, which he created before becoming associated with Independent Financial Group, even though Egan continued to exercise his trading authority in the outside accounts while registered with Independent Financial.
Egan's BrokerCheck report indicates that prior to joining Independent Financial Group, LLC in April 2010, Egan was registered with AFA Financial Group, LLC, also of Laguna Niguel, and employed by AFA Advisor Services of Calabasas, from 2005 through April 2010. This report also indicates that Independent Financial discharged Egan in July 2015 for "failure to disclose personal trading accounts and maintaining trading authority on brokerage accounts held away in violation of firm policy."
The findings state Egan executed trades and transferred funds and securities from customer accounts to Egan's own personal accounts at the outside firm, all while failing to disclose these activities and, furthermore, falsely declaring on six compliance questionnaires that he did not own or control any outside brokerage accounts.
Investigators say that Egan also falsely stated to them that he did not maintain trading authority for any person or entity at the outside accounts or firm where those accounts where held when he indeed did have such authority in those 87 accounts.
If you have invested with ex-Indepedent Financial Group (Laguna Niguel) and AFA Financial Group (Laguna Niguel & Calabasas) broker Brian James Egan or with any broker or financial adviser who held trading authority over or controlled your brokerage account, held at a firm other than the one the broker was registered with, and whose failure to disclose this activity while continuing to exercise transactions in your accounts 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.