James Larkin Powers (James Powers) – Financial Advisor/Broker James Powers Barred from Securities Industry | Goodman & Nekvasil P.A., May Recover Investor Losses
James Larkin Powers (James Powers) CRD #2450818
James Larkin Powers (James Powers) was a formerly licensed financial advisor with IFS Securities and Aegis Capital Corp. According to James Powers’ BrokerCheck report, James Powers was barred from the securities industry in November 2016.
According to FINRA: Extended Hearing Panel Decision rendered November 8, 2017 wherein James Powers was barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities and ordered to pay $388,133, plus prejudgment interest, in disgorgement of ill-gotten profits derived from his sham trading. FINRA also ordered Powers to pay $8,921.48 in costs. The sanctions were based on findings that James Powers engaged in a fraudulent scheme involving the execution of sham trades for his own profit, in willful violation of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 and FINRA Rules 2020 and 2010, and engaged in unauthorized transactions in customer accounts.
The findings stated that James Powers engaged in the fraudulent scheme by executing fictitious trades through buying and selling securities to and from James Powers’ member firm’s accounts that he controlled, at prices he set, for his own benefit, with no corresponding market executions in the securities involved. James Powers fabricated the transactions with no corresponding executions with market counterparties to transfer more than $388,000 from the account to his personal account at the firm, and then to his personal bank account at a bank. The sham trades involved more than 53,000 shares in eight stocks and generated the stated profits exceeding $388,000. The findings also stated that James Powers engaged in unauthorized securities transactions in customer accounts when he booked a large short sale position into customer accounts without authorization 12 times over seven weeks, canceling each trade before it settled, then booking it into another customer account. James Powers’ series of unauthorized trades began when he acquired the short position in a company’s stock. James Powers did the short selling of 1,500 shares of the company at $364.54 per share without a customer order. James Powers, having previously engaged in a profitable trade in the company’s stock, attempted to repeat that success. James Powers was unable to do so as the market price of the stock rapidly increased, leaving him in a progressively worse position. This led James Powers to book the trades as he did in order to hide the position, in the hope that over time the market would become more favorable and allow him to recoup his loss.
The firm’s trade clearing firm noticed the pattern of cancellations and re-billings of the block of the company’s stock and took the actions that compelled the firm to make James Powers place the stock in his error account and cover the trade. The findings also included that when James Powers booked the company’s stock position into customer accounts without authorization, he caused the firm to create and maintain false records of orders and false trade confirmations. The firm’s trading blotters and confirmations recorded Powers’ transactions making it appear that his customers were placing sell orders for the company’s stock that they then canceled on or before trade settlement dates when there were actually no customer orders. The decision found that FINRA failed to prove the allegations in the second and third causes of action by a preponderance of the evidence. Therefore, they dismissed the complaint’s allegations that Powers converted customer funds and engaged in fraudulent practices by making material misstatements and omissions of fact in customer trade confirmations.
Goodman & Nekvasil P.A. May Recover Investor Losses
If you lost money on investments with James Powers and believe the investments may have been unsuitable or otherwise improper for you, we would like to discuss the possibility of your retaining our firm to represent you in an arbitration action concerning James Powers’ conduct. There is no charge for an evaluation of your case. Further, we handle our cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that unless we recover money for you, we charge no attorney’s fee. Unless you recover any money, you pay us nothing, not even the costs and expenses which the firm will advance on your behalf.
Kalju Nekvasil, Esq., formerly regional counsel with the NASD, now known as FINRA, has practiced in this area of the law for more than 35 years. Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A. has recovered more than $180 million on behalf of victimized investors. If you lost money on investments with James Powers and would like your case evaluated by a securities attorney (again, there is no charge for an evaluation and all cases are handled on a purely contingency fee basis), please contact us.
Some of the information in this blog post was obtained on 2/10/2020 directly from FINRA BrokerCheck, without any changes. If you believe this information was reported incorrectly, please contact our firm at 1-800-500-4442.
James Powers, Unsuitable Investment Advice, Investment Fraud, Churning, Misrepresentation and Omission of Material Facts, Elder Fraud, Unauthorized Trading, Theft, Selling Away, Unapproved Outside Business, Nationwide, SEC, James Powers, James Larkin Powers