Matthew Bahrenburg, Broker with CFD Investments, Named in Customer Dispute Alleging the Sale of Private Investments.

INVESTORS: CFD Investments broker Matthew Bahrenburg is facing a pending customer dispute alleging the sale of private investments.

Matthew Bahrenburg (CRD: 5295661) is registered as a broker and investment adviser with CFD Investments where he’s been employed since 2007. Bahrenburg does not have any other experience in the securities industry.

Bahrenburg has three disclosures on his BrokerCheck report. 

February 2022 Customer Dispute

Status: Pending

Allegations: The complaint alleges that Registered Representative, Dana Vietor, engaged in the sale of private investments in the form of deposit agreement, in companies that he had ownership or control of, and that in the process, he engaged in the breach of fiduciary duty, violation of FINRA suitability rules, and fraud. With respect to all other respondents, who are identified as control persons in the allegations, it was alleged that they engaged in Failure to Supervise, Negligent Supervision, and Aiding and Abetting Fraud.

Damage Amount Requested: $345,000.00

Broker Comment: The complaint relates to unapproved activity of then registered representative Dana Vietor, associated with the sale of investments that were not approved by the firm, and were not eligible to be approved by the firm. The firm supervised the activities of Mr. Vietor, and as part of that supervision annually questioned Vietor as to whether he had been involved in private securities transactions or unapproved outside business activities. In all instances, he identified that he had not been so involved. The activities of Mr. Vietor with respect to this matter were unknown by the firm, and upon notice to the firm of these activities, Mr. Vietor was permitted to resign from the firm, and we ceased operation with him due to these activities. With respect to Matthew Bahrenburg, the allegations relate to control person liability only, and the allegations do not specifically allege any wrongdoing on the part of the respondent, apart from not preventing the underlying violations of Mr. Vietor. In that regard, it should be noted that Matthew Bahrenburg serves as the Chief compliance Officer of CFD Investments, Inc. His role did not involve supervision of the day to day activities of Mr. Vietor. Bahrenburg did not have any information upon which to identify that Mr. Vietor was engaging in the sale of improper or unapproved investments prior to the investigation leading to Mr. Vietor’s termination from the firm.

August 2020 Regulatory Judgment

Status: Final

Initiated By: FINRA

Allegations: Without admitting or denying the findings, Bahrenburg consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he and his member firm failed to conduct reasonable due diligence into oil and gas private placement offerings and failed to document the limited due diligence that they did conduct. The findings stated that the firm, through Bahrenburg, did not reasonably assess the issuer’s financial condition. In connection with the issuer’s audited financial statements, its independent auditor advised that the issuer has suffered recurring losses from operations from inception and pending litigation that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern, and included a going concern note that detailed these financial difficulties. Despite these significant red flags about the issuer’s ability to continue business operations, Bahrenburg failed to request additional financial information from the firm, or to verify its ability to make its promised capital contribution. The firm, through Bahrenburg, did not reasonably investigate the circumstances of an investor lawsuit that he knew had resulted in a $9 million jury verdict. Bahrenburg was not familiar with the allegations made or the specifics of the verdict entered, which included factual determinations that the principals of the issuer made misrepresentations to investors about their experience in the oil and gas industry, and its ability to afford the costs associated with drilling an oil well. The firm, through Bahrenburg, did not review the issuer’s prior offerings, notwithstanding that the firm’s written procedures mandate such a review. The issuer lacked the financial ability to make the capital contributions in its prior offerings. A review of those offerings would have alerted the firm to this issue. The firm, through Bahrenburg, failed to conduct any independent review or assessment of the project generally, and instead simply accepted the information and representations provided by the issuer.

Resolution: Acceptance, Waiver & Consent(AWC)

Sanctions: Civil and Administrative Penalty(ies)/Fine(s)

Amount: $5,000.00

Sanctions: Suspension

Registration Capacities Affected: Any principal capacity

Duration: 45 days

Start Date: 9/21/2020

End Date: 11/4/2020

Regulator Statement: Fines paid in full on September 9, 2020.

July 2017 Financial Event

Status: Final

Type: Bankruptcy

Disposition: Discharged

If you have any information about Matthew Bahrenburg that you would like to share or discuss, please call our firm for a confidential consultation. We represent investors in claims against negligent brokers and brokerage firms. If you or your loved one experienced investment losses, we are here to help. For a free consultation, please call us now at 866-827-3202 or complete our contact form.