President and CEO Leigh Garber Suspended by FINRA

It was the New Woodstock, NY executive’s second suspension in 10 months

In October, Leigh Garber received a three-month suspension from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). It was the second time in 2016 that she was penalized by the agency.

An 18-year veteran of the securities industry, Garber first began with IBN Financial Services, Inc. in Liverpool, NY. She then proceeded to work for several firms in New Woodstock, NY, before starting at National Securities Corporation in November of 2015.

Garber’s first suspension took place in January due to an allegation that her firm sold an unregistered security and it was her failure to supervise that led to interest-only strips from loans issued by the U.S. Small Business Association going to individual retail investors instead of Qualified Institutional Buyers. The product was also allegedly “fraudulently misrepresented” in solicitation emails. In addition, the complaint stated that the firm charged markups of up to 33 percent on unregistered securities transactions.

Failure to supervise is a serious charge, as a firm is responsible for supervising all activities of its financial advisors and stockbrokers. As a result of these allegations, Garber was fined $15,000 and suspended for one year.

In October, FINRA discovered that Garber had allowed her firm to conduct business even though it did not have sufficient net capital on hand. It was Garber’s responsibility to ensure the firm met the net capital compliance. FINRA found that the capital deficiencies were due to the firm failing to document all accrued expenses as well as operating expenses. Once again, Garber was suspended, this time for three months. She was also fined $10,000.

For more details on Leigh Garber and the charges against her, you can read FINRA’s BrokerCheck report.

If it’s possible you lost money as the result of Garber’s actions, you should review your options. You can talk to a securities arbitration attorney at the Silver Law Group for a free consultation. Scott Silver is the current chair of the American Trial Lawyers Association Securities and Financial Fraud Group, and the attorneys at Silver Law Group are leaders in the field of securities arbitration. We represent individual and institutional investors across the United States who have lost money at the hands of a trusted financial advisor.

We may be able to help you recover lost funds and, because our firm works on contingency, there’s no fee unless we’re successful. Contact us to learn more.