FINRA fined and suspended former RBC Capital (San Francisco, CA) broker Brian Sung Hyun aka Sung Chul Hyun for participating in a pair of cannabis and medical marijuana-related outside business activities that he failed to disclose to RBC.
According to the findings, Hyun (CRD #2714973) in 2016 served as a financial modeler for H&B, a cannabis consulting company, and simultaneously worked for a medical marijuana cultivation, processing, and dispensary business in Las Vegas, Nevada, known as TGIG.
Investigators found that TGIG employee Hyun was actively involved in several important aspects of TGIG, and indirectly owned an interest in TGIG, which he failed to disclose to RBC Capital, thus not only engaging in undisclosed and unapproved outside business activities, but also holding two conflicts of interest that may have placed investors at risk.
Curiously, Hyun did disclose a Board of Directors position in Kouretas Capital LLC of Las Vegas, a retail investment firm, but, according to the report, failed to inform RBC Capital of his associations with H&B and TGIG. Demetri Kouretas is listed as the CEO of TGIG.
In general, a broker who fails to disclose a conflict of interest in a company while marketing or recommending this company's stock or securities product to an investor is violating securities laws and/or FINRA rules by doing so. Conflicts of interest and the omissions or misrepresentations that come with them may create situations that harm investors when brokers dole out unsuitable advice or transact securities not suitable for the client based on the broker's own expected profit at the expense of actual investors. For more on conflicts of interest, refer to our Conflict of Interest category.
As this collection of FINRA conflict-of-interest decisions indicates, this brand of misconduct can prove costly.
With TGIG entering into a partnership with Denver, Colorado-based O.penVAPE in 2016, Hyun's undisclosed conflict of interest with TGIG may have masked a further potential conflict of interest concerning O.penVAPE and its related products.
With the proliferation of marijuana and cannabis securities—which in 2013 prompted FINRA to issue an investor alert pertaining to marijuana stock scams—transparency is of the utmost importance.
If you have invested with ex-RBC Capital broker Brian Sung Hyun or with any representative or financial adviser who has failed to disclose an outside business activity or has otherwise omitted material facts or made unsuitable recommendations pertaining to a product in which the broker held a conflict of interest, resulting in financial harm or other portfolio damages, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.