Lack of Oversight: Securities America Failed to Spot and Stop Advisor’s Scam

Serious allegations have been raised that Securities America failed to take action to identify and stop an investment fraud scam that was being run by one of its brokers and perpetrated on its customers.

Former Securities America advisor Hector May (CRD#: 323779) has been accused of misappropriating investor funds, and, perhaps, operating a Ponzi scheme within the company. Mr. May was employed as a broker at Securities America in New City, New York from 1998 to 2018.

On March 8th, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it was investigating Hector May for felony investment fraud. It was not until the next day that Mr. May was ultimately terminated by the brokerage firm. Unfortunately, significant damage may have already been done to innocent investors by that point in time.

Allegations have been raised that Mr. May bilked investors out of millions of dollars by offering fraudulent tax-free bonds. In FINRA arbitration proceedings, Securities America customers have alleged that Mr. May shuffled their money in and out of different accounts, misappropriating their funds.

Registered broker-dealers have a duty to supervise their individual securities representatives. The failure to supervise can put investors in harm’s way. If a brokerage firm fails to live up to this responsibility, then the company may be held legally liable for any resulting investor losses. If Securities American failed to provide adequate oversight of broker Hector May, then the firm may be liable for his investment fraud scam.