FINRA has barred Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based broker Douglas W. Studer (CRD# 4440047) for refusing to testify on the record in a FINRA-led investigation into whether Studer violated his employing firm’s policy by being named in an elderly customer’s estate documents to inherit the customer’s waterfront condominium.
Studer was employed by Kovack Securities Inc. (CRD# 44848) until Kovack terminated him in July 2016, according to the Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”) entered into between Studer and FINRA.
According to the AWC, FINRA began investigating Studer on August 2, 2016. Studer was asked to record testimony, but he refused to appear. Allegedly, Studer appeared on his 91-year-old customer’s estate documents and was to inherit the elderly customer’s waterfront condominium.
In settling the matter, according to the AWC, Studer agreed to be barred without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings.
Studer’s FINRA BrokerCheck report contains three other disclosures including a bankruptcy in 2010 and a FINRA arbitration dispute alleging unauthorized trading that settled for $60,000.
Studer has been in the industry since 2001, and was employed prior to Kovack by National Securities Corporation (CRD# 7569) from November 2013 to November 2015 and Prime Capital Services, Inc. (CRD# 18334) from March 2009 to November 2013.
Kovack was formed in Florida in April 1997. The firm has eight disclosures in its less-than-20-years of existence.
Elder abuse is a hot topic in the securities industry and an issue that is even more prevalent in Florida given the large population of seniors.
FINRA has started to place more emphasis on the issue recently and has dedicated an entire web page of guidance for elder investors. In October 2015, FINRA proposed new rules regarding elder financial exploitation in a regulatory notice. Additionally, in January 2016, FINRA further emphasized elder financial exploitation by making its treatment of the issue a priority in 2016 in FINRA’s yearly Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter.
Silver Law Group has been helping elders who have been financially abused for years and recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process. If you or a loved one has lost money due to elder financial abuse, with Douglas W. Studer, Kovack Securities, or any other broker or broker-dealer, we may be able to recover your lost investments through FINRA arbitration.
Silver Law Group represents the interests of investors and senior investors who have been the victims of investment fraud. If you have questions about your legal rights, please contact Scott Silver of the Silver Law Group for a free consultation at ssilver@silverlaw.com or toll free at (800) 975-4345.