Michael Kris Pina (Michael Pina) – Financial Advisor/Broker Michael Pina Suspended from Securities Industry | Recover Losses

Michael Kris Pina (Michael Pina) – Financial Advisor/Broker Michael Pina Suspended from Securities Industry | Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A. May Recover Investor Losses

Michael Kris Pina (Michael Pina) CRD #5922058

Michael Pina was a previously licensed financial advisor with PFS Investments, Inc. According to FINRA, Michael Pina was suspended from the securities industry for 16 months and fined $10,000 in September 2020.

According to FINRA: 

FINRA Rule 3240 prohibits a registered person from borrowing money from his or her customer unless: (1) the registered person’s employing member firm has written procedures permitting borrowing from customers; and (2) the borrowing arrangement meets at least one of five circumstances specified in the rule. Even if these requirements are satisfied, the registered representative must seek and obtain prior written approval of the loan from the member firm, except that the firm’s procedures may provide otherwise where the customer is a financial institution or a member of the representative’s immediate family. A violation of FINRA Rule 3240 also violates FINRA Rule 2010, which requires associated persons “to observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade.” PFS’s written policy entitled, “Unacceptable Business Practices,” provided that “borrowing money or securities from … a client” was “strictly prohibited.” In March 2018, Pina, through an entity he controlled, borrowed a total of $72,000 from four of his PFS brokerage customers. Specifically, on or about March 15, 2018, he borrowed $23,000 from customer JP; on or about March 19, 2018, he borrowed $19,000 from customer MP; on or about March 27, 2018, he borrowed $10,000 from customer JN; and, on or about March 28, 2018, he borrowed $20,000 from customer EP. Pina orally promised to each customer that he would repay the principal and pay an agreed amount of interest. Pina did not document the loans in a loan agreement or other written instrument at the time he borrowed the funds. Pina repaid the principal to two of the customers, but still owes $12,300 of principal to JP and $7,500 of principal to MP. In January 2019, Pina also falsely represented to the Firm in a compliance questionnaire that he had “not borrowed … money or securities from any [Firm] customer whether [his] customer or anyone else’s customer.”

Goodman & Nekvasil P.A. May Recover Investor Losses

If you lost money on investments with Michael Pina 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 Michael Pina’s 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 Michael Pina 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 9/30/2020 directly from FINRA BrokerCheck, without any changes. If you believe this information was reported incorrectly, please contact our firm at 1-800-500-4442.

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