On June 4, 2018, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) announced it suspended Kevin Edward Looser for from associating with firms registered with FINRA for four months. FINRA registers and regulates securities brokers and brokerage firms.
FINRA said it suspended Looser after investigating him and finding that he participated in fourteen private securities transactions without notifying his firm, Sigma Financial Corporation. The transactions involved Looser selling Sigma customers securities in a business co-owned by Looser, alleged FINRA.
Private securities transactions involve securities a broker promotes or sells that were not preapproved by their firm. They may involve securities a broker sells that he has a financial interest in. Brokers, like Looser, must obtain approval from their firm before engaging in private securities transactions, and failure to do so is a violation called “selling away.”
Firms are required to supervise their brokers, including by investigating red flags of selling away. A firm may be liable for its broker selling away, even the firm is unaware it occurred.
Before his suspension, Looser had not been registered with a brokerage firm since September 29, 2017 when he was discharged by Sigma. Looser had worked for Sigma since September 2005, which said it terminated Looser for failing to timely notify Sigma of his outside business activities.
Looser’s FINRA records indicate that he had previously disclosed he owned the company involved in the selling away allegations.
If you or someone you know suffered losses while investing with Kevin Edward Looser, call Marquardt Law Office LLC at (312) 945-6065 for a free case evaluation.
Marquardt Law Office LLC is a securities law firm that represents clients nationwide on a contingency basis to recover losses caused by misconduct such as fraud and negligence. Most cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, meaning there will not be an attorney fee if there is no recovery.
