FINRA Suspended Former Sigma Financial Corp. Financial Advisor, Curtis Ile, For Alleged Unauthorized Trading

Curtis Ile was a former Financial Advisor at Sigma Financial Corp. in Mount Carmel, Illinois.  Curtis Ile entered the securities industry in 1999 and previously worked at Ameritas Investment Corp.

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), on May 31, 2019, Curtis Ile was suspended by FINRA for a period of six months based on findings that he “recommended over-the-counter (OTC) equity securities to customers without reviewing the current financial statements of the issuers to determine whether there was a reasonable basis for making such recommendations. The findings also included that Ile exercised discretion in customers’ accounts without obtaining prior written authorization from the customers and without his firm having accepted the accounts for discretionary trading.”

For a copy of the FINRA sanction, click https://www.finra.org/sites/default/files/fda_documents/2017054678101%20Curtis%20Ile%20CRD%204009787%20AWC%20va.pdf

In addition, in July 2018, Curtis Ile was terminated by Sigma Financial Corp. after “the firm had reason to believe that the representative marked solicied trades as ‘unsoliicted’ on order tickets.”  Order tickets are the brokerage firm’s means to document orders placed to buy and sell securities.  If a trade is marked solicited, it means that the transaction was recommended by the Financial Advisor.  If marked unsolicited, it generally means that the transaction was initiated by the customer.  Often times, Financial Advisors who “mismark” trades do so in order to avoid compliance oversight of a trade that they believe will be “red flagged” for unsuitability. 

For a copy of Curtis Ile’s CRD, click https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/4009787#disclosuresSection

Financial advisors have a legal and regulatory obligation to recommend only suitable investments that are appropriate for their clients’ needs and objectives. Their employing brokerage firm has a legal and regulatory obligation to supervise the Financial Advisors’ sales practices and dealings with clients.  To the extent any of these duties are breached, the customer may be entitled to a recovery of his or her investment losses.

The Wolper Law Firm represents investors nationwide in securities litigation and arbitration on a contingency fee basis.  Matt Wolper, the Managing Principal of the Wolper Law Firm, is a trial lawyer who has handled hundreds of securities cases during his career involving a wide range of products, strategies and securities.  Prior to representing investors, he was a partner with a national law firm, where he represented some of the largest banks and brokerage firms in the world in securities matters.  We can be reached at 800.931.8452 or by email at mwolper@wolperlawfirm.com.