FINRA suspended former Finance 500, Inc. (Irvine, California) broker John Joseph Kostic Jr, fined him $10,000 and ordered disgorgement for Kostic's participation in private securities transactions outside of his scope of employment without providing notice to Finance 500 or Kostic's previous firm, Richfield Orion International, Inc. of Newport Beach, CA.
FINRA's report states that Kostic (CRD #2062399), who also lists employment with F500 Advisory Services and J Kostic Insurance services, participated in 11 private securities transactions with a company away from and without providing notice to either FINRA-member firm he was associated with. Kostic purportedly introduced nine investors, including four were customers of Finance 500, to the outside business, resulting in $470,000 in unauthorized investments in the outside entity; Kostic received $42,000 from the company for his participation in the transactions.
The findings state that in September 2016, Finance 500 disclosed that a customer complaint had been filed against Kostic.
Three settled customer disputes are listed in Kostic's BrokerCheck report, and indicate nearly $150,000-worth of damages related to allegations of churning, unsuitable recommendations, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, and violations of state and federal securities laws.
The products associated with these settled complaints of misconduct include real estate investment trusts (REITs), direct participation program (DPP) interests, stocks, options, and insurance.
If you have invested with former Finance 500 and Richfield Orion International broker John Kostic of the firms' Orange County branches, or with any representative or financial adviser whose unsuitable recommendations, selling away, or other misconduct as proven harmful to your investments or interests (for instance, one of the customer complaints in Kostic's file included allegations—and a settlement—that the misconduct had resulted in excessive and/or unnecessary surrender fees), please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.