WFG Investments Broker Carl Busch Fined and Suspended by FINRA

Broker’s record includes failure to supervise, tax liens and civil judgments.

In his 46 years in the securities industry, Oklahoma City investment advisor Carl Busch has six disclosure events listed on his official FINRA BrokerCheck record. The most recent event in December 2015 shows that FINRA sanctioned Busch $5,000 and suspended him from participating in the securities industry as an advisor for 45 days.

According to the disciplinary action details, Busch failed to adequately supervise a registered representative of his firm, WFG Investments, who allegedly:

• Recommended and engaged in unsuitable trading in the IRA account of a retired customer. The customer, a doctor with degenerative eye disease that prevented her from working, followed the registered representative’s advice to invest over $100,000.00 in an Oklahoma-based oil and gas exploration company.

The company filed bankruptcy and as a result, the customer suffered almost a complete loss. This recommendation, along with two others, carried a level of risk unsuitable for a retired individual with known health problems, limited income and limited assets, according to the disciplinary action.

• Exercised discretion without having obtained prior written authorization in the accounts of three customers, and falsely denied using discretion on his annual compliance questionnaires to the company.

Busch, in his role, failed to establish and maintain a proper supervisory system that would ensure that such transactions were suitable for the firm’s customers. On numerous occasions, Busch allegedly failed to recognize warning signs that the registered representative was engaging in questionable sales practices. In fact, the firm’s compliance department and Busch’s supervisor advised Busch of the representative’s questionable account activities, yet Busch failed to take the appropriate measures to supervise the representative. As a result, customers suffered financial loss.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time such a complaint has been registered against Busch. In 2001, damages were granted in the amount of $50,000 when similar allegations were brought against the broker. In 2009, a tax lien in the amount of $72,206 was reported on his record, and in 2014, a civil judgment in the amount of $3,470 was also reported.

If you or someone you know suffered financial loss through investing with Carl Busch or any other financial advisor, you may benefit by consulting an experienced securities arbitration attorney. The team of securities arbitration attorneys at Silver Law Group is ready to help you understand your rights and potentially recover your financial losses.