(MENAFNEditorial) LOS ANGELES, Feb. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --The law firm of Gana LLP filed an arbitration claim against Western International Securities, Inc. (Western) related to its former employees, Brittney Sias and Clement Lancelot Chichester's recommendation of risky non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) to a senior citizen.
The California Department of Insurance recently announced it arrested Sias and Chichester for allegedly scamming another senior through unsuitable REIT recommendations and a shady real estate deal. The Department of Insurance disclosed Chichester faces more than 35 years in prison and Sias faces more than nine years, if convicted on all counts.
According to the Statement of Claim filed with FINRA, Sias and Chichester unsuitability recommended the senior invest nearly her entire liquid net worth in risky, illiquid private placements and non-traded REITs. In particular, Sias and Chichester loaded up their client's investment portfolio in American Realty Capital REITs and other similar speculative investments. It was also alleged Sias and Chichester materially misrepresented the risks associated with the unsuitable investments to the senior investor.
Further, Western is required under financial industry rules to establish policies and procedures to reasonably supervise Sias and Chichester's sale of investment products to the public. Western is alleged to have ignored the significant amount of illiquid REITs recommended in the senior's investment portfolio among other misconduct.
Adam Gana, managing partner of Gana LLP, stated that "We continue to see firms failing to supervise their employee's investment activities leading to catastrophic investor harm in these types of investments. Licensed advisors occupy a position of public trust and the firms that employ them need to monitor their advisors and the products they sell."
The securities attorneys at Gana LLP have represented hundreds of individual and institutions that have been the victim of financial fraud in arbitrations and in court seeking to recover losses. Gana LLP is a nationally recognized law firm for investor protection.
If Brittney Sias and Clement Lancelot Chichester recommended that you invest in any private placements or non-trade REITs while they worked for Western and want a free consultation with an attorney please contact Adam Gana at (212) 776-4251 or by e-mailat.You may also visit the firm's website at.
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SOURCE Gana LLP
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