FINRA Suspends Petersen Investments Broker for Failing to Disclose Settlement With Client

FINRA suspended New York-based broker Peter G. Alcure (CRD# 2406903) after he settled a customer’s losses without bringing the demand and subsequent settlement to his employing firm, Petersen Investments, Inc. (CRD# 38537).

According to Alcure’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, FINRA suspended him in July 2016 for one month after one of his customers verbally demanded that he pay her $20,000 to compensate her for losses she incurred in her account.  According to the Acceptance, Waiver & Consent (“AWC”) entered into between Alcure and FINRA, Alcure failed to notify his firm about the verbal demand or the settlement of the claim.

Alcure, according to the AWC, sent the customer approximately 21 checks totaling an amount of approximately $12,500 to compensate her for her losses.  Alcure was suspended for one month and fined $5,000, according to the AWC.

FINRA Rule 2010 is a concise rule FINRA enacted.  The rule simply states “A member, in the conduct of its business, shall observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade.”  Alcure’s failure to notify or obtain the consent of his employing, FINRA-registered firm of his settlement or the initial complaint is a violation of this rule.

By not notifying or obtaining the consent of a broker’s employing firm to settle, a broker can slip under the radar of FINRA’s BrokerCheck tool: what isn’t reported to FINRA will not appear on the report.  Such a failure to adhere to FINRA rules frustrates the purpose of the BrokerCheck disclosure database.  This can leave a customer using the BrokerCheck tool for research to not get the full disclosure history of a broker.  The same rings true for a brokerage firm that fails to disclose required disclosures.

If you have invested with Peter G. Alcure and Petersen Investments, Inc. and have lost money doing so, you may be able to recover some or all of your losses.  Our lawyers are experienced in recovering investor losses due to broker and brokerage firm misconduct through FINRA arbitration.

Silver Law Group represents the interests of 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.