Before being permanently barred by FINRA, James Flynn of Greenville, South Carolina, was a broker who caused serious damage to many clients. Flynn’s publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report shows an astounding 40 disclosures, including bankruptcy, tax liens, employment separations, and customer disputes alleging false and misleading representations and unsuitable investment recommendations.
James Flynn was a registered broker with Voya Financial Advisors from 2013-2017. He was fired from Voya for providing misleading information to the firm during an investigation of a customer complaint about variable annuities. Flynn was registered with IFS Securities from 2017-2018. A client dispute involving variable annuities led to his firing from IFS.
James Flynn is now “barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities.”
Why So Many Complaints Against Flynn?
Flynn seemed to prefer selling his clients variable annuities and real estate investment trusts (REITS), which are products that paid him a high commission. Many of the claims against Flynn relate to investments in companies such as Phillip Edison REIT, Business Development Corp of America (BDCA), Hospitality Investors Trust, and others.
Scott Silver, managing partner of Silver Law Group, is quoted in InvestmentNews.com:
“Every client of Flynn’s got the same mixed bag of about 30% in variable annuities and then the rest a substantial percentage in REITs. A client came to see Flynn and was told REITs were the way to go.”
Investment Suitability & Portfolio Overconcentration
Some of Flynn’s clients were overconcentrated in high-risk REITS, which were unsuitable for their investment needs and have since stopped paying dividends and decreased in value, causing significant losses.
Brokers have a duty to recommend suitable investments to their clients and not overconcentrate their portfolios. A brokerage firm may be held liable for overconcentrating a client’s account or investments in a singular product. High commissions and other incentives can lead a stockbroker to overconcentrate a client in these investments or inflate a customer’s net worth.
Claims Against Voya Financial Advisors
Silver Law Group has multiple arbitration claims against Voya Financial Advisors, seeking to recover as much as $2 million in damages. Broker-dealers like Voya are responsible for supervising registered representatives like Flynn.
Scott Silver is further quoted in the InvestmentNews article:
“The claims are against Voya because that’s where positions [in variable annuities and REITs] were put on, and most of our clients were told the need to hold the position. Voya was allowing him to sell these products in such concentrated positions. It’s surprising they were even on the firm’s platform.”
Contact Our Firm if You’ve Invested with James T. Flynn or Voya Financial Advisors
If you invested with James Flynn and/or Voya Financial Advisors, you may have a claim to recover your losses. Silver Law Group has filed multiple claims against Flynn and Voya. Our team of investment fraud attorneys in South Carolina can answer your questions. We take most cases on a contingency fee basis, which means it won’t cost you anything out of pocket to have us work on your case.
Silver Law Group represents the interests of investors who have been the victims of investment fraud. Scott Silver is the chairman of the Securities and Financial Fraud Group of the American Association of Justice and represents investors nationwide in securities investment fraud cases. Silver Law Group represents investors in Greenville, South Carolina in securities arbitration claims. Please contact Scott Silver of the Silver Law Group for a free consultation at ssilver@silverlaw.com or toll free at (800) 975-4345.