Dexter Thomas
Silver Law Group represents investors in arbitration claims against LPL Financial.
Dexter Thomas’s publicly-available FINRA BrokerCheck report lists an incredible 29 disclosures, which is considerably more even than most troubled brokers. 23 of the disclosures are customer complaints, 5 are financial disclosures, and 1 is an employment separation after allegations.
Employment Separation After Allegations
In 2018, United Planners Financial Services of America terminated Thomas. The disclosure states that, before Thomas passed away, he disclosed that “he was involved with a number of private loans or private investments with individuals-some of whom became customers of the firm-which private loans or investments were neither disclosed to, not approved by, the firm.”
Dexter Thomas Later Customer Disputes
After his death people started coming forward claiming that Thomas had not returned all the money privately loaned or invested with him, according to the disclosure about his termination.
In April, 2018 a customer dispute alleged that “recently-deceased Registered Representative did not return all of the funds that were privately loaned to or privately invested with the Registered Representative. The private loan(s) or investment(s) were neither disclosed to nor approved by the Firm.” That dispute was settled for $320,000.
Identical disputes to the above appear 12 more times on Thomas’ record. The most recent comes in September, 2019, which requests $42,835,517 in damages. That dispute, and most of the others, are still pending as of this writing.
In September, 2018, two disputes were filed alleging only “unsuitable investment”, which were denied.
In May, 2019, three disputes alleged failure to supervise, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud. Two of those disputes requested $500,000 in damages, and one requested $100,000. All of those disputes are pending.
In October, 2018, a customer dispute alleged “misrepresentation and fraud in connection with alleged scheme involving “short-term investment notes.” That dispute requested almost $8 million in damages and was denied because Thomas was not registered with LPL Financial when the alleged conduct occurred. A similar dispute was filed in February, 2019, requesting $377,275 in damages, and denied for the same reason.
Financial Disclosures
The 5 financial disclosures on Thomas’ record occur in 2011 and 2012. They all involve a compromise with creditors and are settled in Texas state court in Dallas County. Four of the disclosures involve Bank of America, and one is with Citibank. All were satisfied by settling with the creditor by paying about 50%-60% of the original amount owed, which was between $35,000 and $6,500.
Dexter Thomas Early Customer Disputes
The first customer dispute on Thomas’ record is in 2002 when he was registered with Sunamerica Securities. A customer alleged that she was caused financial harm when Thomas “moved her funds out of the market into cash management without her knowledge or permission”. That dispute was settled for the requested $13,002, which represents the amount the client lost while out of the market.
It’s not until 2012 that another dispute is registered. It occurs while Thomas is a registered representative of National Planning Corporation and involves a customer alleging “unsuitable recommendations, failure to protect claimant’s assets, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligent supervision.” The dispute was settled for $30,000, though Thomas denied the allegation and stated that the client was warned about making withdrawals from her account in a down market.
In 2016 a customer despite alleges “violations of FINRA rules and standards of conduct, violation of the Texas Securities Act, and negligence in making unsuitable recommendations, engaging in manipulative and deceitful conduct, and breach of duties.” $94,352.90 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending.
Outside Business Activities
Under other business activities on Thomas’ BrokerCheck report, it is disclosed that he worked in sales for “various insurance companies” and was president of Dexter Thomas Financial Services, LLC.
Familiar Allegations
The allegations against Dexter Thomas, such as unsuitable investments, failure to supervise, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, taking private loans from clients, and selling away, are all types of misconduct that Silver Law Group has seen many times before. It is uncommon that the broker is deceased, but the brokerage firms he was registered with when alleged misconduct occurred are still responsible for his actions, and can be pursued through FINRA arbitration in an attempt to recover investment losses.
Did You Invest With Dexter Thomas Or LPL?
If you have investment losses with Dexter Thomas or LPL, National Planning Corporation, or United Planners Financial Services of America, please contact Scott Silver of the Silver Law Group at ssilver@silverlaw.com or toll free at (800) 975-4345 for a free consultation to discuss options to recover your losses.
Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases, including selling away. Our attorneys represent investors nationwide to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. Most cases are handled on a contingent fee basis, meaning that you won’t owe us unless we recover money for you. Contact us today and let us know how we can help.