RCS Capital Corporation Appoints New General Counsel

RCS Capital Corporation (NYSE: RCAP), the brokerage firm founded by real estate mogul Nicholas Schorsch, appointed Mason Allen to serve as the company’s general counsel, effective immediately. Allen succeeds James Tanaka, who previously held the position. No information regarding Tanaka’s departure was provided by the company.

Allen previously served as the company’s assistant general counsel. Prior to joining RCS Capital in 2013, Allen was a practicing capital markets and finance attorney with the law firm of Proskauer Rose LLP, where he represented domestic and foreign private issuers, initial purchasers, underwriters, dealer managers and placement agents in capital markets, leveraged finance and other corporate transactions, including registered, Rule 144A, Regulation D and “pure private” Section 4(a)(2) equity and debt offerings. In this role, he regularly advised clients on settlement, trade, and securities law compliance matters as well as on general corporate law and corporate governance matters.

Previously, Allen was with the law firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, where he represented leading investment banks, mezzanine funds and private corporations in high-yield debt and leveraged finance transactions. He began his legal career as a law clerk in the offices of Sills Cummis & Gross P.C.

Allen earned a bachelor of arts degree from Dartmouth College and received his juris doctorate from Brooklyn Law School. He is a member of the New York and New Jersey bar associations.

The company recently announced that chief executive officer Michael Weil stepped down from his position, but will remain on the board of directors. Larry Roth, CEO of Realty Capital Securities’ Cetera Financial Group, assumed the additional role as CEO of the parent company upon Weil’s resignation.

RCAP and its affiliates have been no strangers to controversy in recent weeks. Realty Capital Securities, RCAP’s broker-dealer and distributor of non-traded direct investment programs, was recently charged with fraud by the state of Massachusetts for allegedly casting fraudulent proxy votes on behalf of shareholders.

Realty Capital Securities suspended dealer manager agreements with six AR Capital-sponsored offerings. Fidelity and Schwab also severed ties with the broker-dealer.

RCAP received a delisting notice from New York Stock Exchange indicating that its Class A common stock did not satisfy the NYSE standards for continued listing.

Hatteras Funds announced that its senior management team has signed a letter of intent to repurchase the firm from RCAP for $5 million, just 16 months after RCAP paid $40 million for the provider of alternative investment funds.

Moody’s Investors Service reported that it had placed the four RCAP ratings on review for downgrade.