Newbridge Securities Under Fire for ARC REIT Sales to Pennsylvania Police and Firefighters
Lawyers representing a number of retired Philadelphia police and firefighters plan to file more complaints with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority against Boca Raton-based Newbridge Securities for unsuitable non-traded REIT sales.
Lawyers representing a number of retired Philadelphia police and firefighters plan to file more complaints with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority against Boca Raton-based Newbridge Securities for unsuitable non-traded REIT sales.
In November and December 2017, four investor complaints were against Newbridge, alleging losses totaling $760,000 for “unsuitable securities” sales. The investors claim that they were not warned of the risks of the securities.
Last summer, the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities fined Newbridge $499,000 for failing to supervise one Pennsylvania broker that sold structured products to his clients in the state.
Although the broker was not named in Pennsylvania complaint against Newbridge, FINRA records show that Austin Dutton of Bridge Valley Financial Services, an affiliate of Newbridge Securities, was the firm’s Pennsylvania agent. Dutton is no longer affiliated with Newbridge.
The Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities also fined Dutton $200,000 for engaging in “dishonest or unethical practices” for the unsuitable recommendations.
Dutton, who was not named as a respondent in the Newbridge FINRA arbitrations, vehemently denies all of the allegations, according to a comment on his Brokercheck profile.
In a 2014 interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Dutton was outspoken in his methods of marketing and selling American Realty Capital investments to police officers, firefighters, teachers, and retirees.
Two lawyers representing Dutton’s former clients reportedly plan to file a combined 20 complaints with FINRA against Newbridge for improper non-traded REIT sales, as originally reported by Investment News. Their clients were invested in non-traded REITs sponsored by AR Global and United Development Funding.
Newbridge Financial was one of seven broker-dealers fined by Massachusetts’ securities regulators in 2016 in connection with the Realty Capital Securities proxy fraud scandal that shuttered the firm in December 2015. Realty Capital Securities was the wholesaling broker-dealer of American Realty Capital, now known as AR Global.
