FINRA barred ex-Colorado Financial Service Corporation (Carlsbad, CA) broker Tracy Rae Turner and ordered $292,894.04 in fines following a November 2016 complaint alleging Turner's participation in unapproved private securities transactions, suitability violations, and for disseminating false and misleading communications to the public about several securities related to saltwater disposal well facilities.
Fittingly, the fine of $272,894.04 corresponds to the $272,894.04 in commissions that FINRA says Turner (CRD #1385745) received in connection with $4.1 million in violative sales.
OHO Disciplinary Proceeding #2014040338401
According to OHO paperwork, Turner sold $4.1 million in saltwater disposal well (e.g., oil-and-gas facilities) interests to 12 investors without providing prior written notice to Colorado Financial Service Corporation.
In November, FINRA identified the saltwater disposal facilities as Tom SWD, Clark SWD, and Moreland SWD; indicated that Turner was sole proprietor of Turner Financial Group (also in Carlsbad, CA) and received compensation as a percentage commission from each SWD sale, which was paid by TSWR Development, LLC, and totaled $272,894.04.
The OHO-imposed banishment is a default decision, meaning Turner did not contest the findings that he sold away, engaged in false and misleading communications with the public, and violated FINRA rules regarding reviews and approvals.
FINRA also sought to issue Turner a $25,000 fine and one-year suspension for violating regulatory advertising rules—including a failure to provide sound basis for evaluating the SWD investments; and for making false, exaggerated, unwarranted, promissory or misleading statements in communications with the public—but did not impose additional sanctions for the advertising violations in light of Turner's bar for selling away.
Turner's BrokerCheck report contains a laundry list of 35 disclosures, including $2.5 million-worth of settlements and/or awarded damages for disputes that alleged fraud, unsuitable recommendations, misrepresentation, reach of fiduciary duty, and/or negligence. Prior to Colorado Financial Service Corporation, Turner was associated with Lighthouse Capital Corporation of Vista, California, and appeared as a defendant alongside Salomon Smith Barney in a 2004 California legal action alleging breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and negligence.
If you have invested in misrepresented energy interests with SoCal broker Tracy Rae Turner, formerly of Carlsbad's Colorado Financial Service Corporation, or with any broker or financial adviser whose improper sales of private securities away from their firm and through the use of misleading, unwarranted, or otherwise inappropriate statements have proven harmful to your investments or interests, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for investigation and consultation.