Financial Advisor James Bashaw (International Assets Advisory, LLC) Customer Complaints

• April 26, 2019
• International Assets Advisory

James Bashaw is a Financial Advisor at International Assets Advisory, LLC in Houston, TX.  James Bashaw has been in the securities industry since 1984 and previously worked at Merrill Lynch, Kidder, Peabody, Thomas White & Co., First America Equities, Suntrust Equitable Securities, J.C. Bradford & Co., UBS, LPL Financial and Wunderlich Securities, Inc. 

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), on April 23, 2019, James Bashaw was suspended  by FINRA from associating with any FINRA member firm in any capacity for four months and fined $5,000.  According to the FINRA sanction:

“Without admitting or denying the findings, Bashaw consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he borrowed a total of approximately $200,000 from a customer without seeking or obtaining prior approval from his member firm.  The findings stated that in annual compliance questionnaires, Bashaw falsely told his firm that he had not borrowed any money from another individual, which the questionnaires identified as a prohibited activity.”  James Bashaw was discharged from LPL Financial for this activity. 

For a copy of the FINRA sanction, click https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/1251491.

In addition, James Bashaw has three customer disputes, a pending bankruptcy and a $1,900,000 civil judgement/lien reported on his CRD.  The customer disputes allege:

• September 2016 – CLAIMANTS ALLEGE UNSUITABLE INVESTMENTS, BORROWING FROM CUSTOMERS, PRIVATE SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS, AND FAILURE TO SUPERVISE WITH RESPECT TO PROMISSORY NOTES PROVIDED BY MR. BASHAW AND MR. BASHAW RECOMMENDING INVESTMENT IN TEXAS AIR SHUTTLE, LLC.”  That matter settled for $1,900,000.
• April 2012 – “UITS PURCHASED IN 2011 WERE UNSUITABLE.”  That matter settled for $10,000.
• June 1988 – “BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTYM CHIRNING OBJECTIVES NOT FOLLOWED.  CLAIM $620,000 ACTUAL DAMAGES AND $1,000,000 PUNITIVE DAMAGES.”  The matter settled for $200,000.

For a copy of James Bashaw’s CRD, click https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/1251491.

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.