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Financial Advisor Lawrence Torres (First Standard Financial Company LLC) Customer Complaints

The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. is currently investigating claims against Lawrence Torres, a former Financial Advisor at First Standard Financial Company in Staten Island, NY.  Lawrence Torres’s past employments include Alexander Capital, LP, Brookstone Securities, Inc., JP Turner & Company and VFinanace Inestments.

According to public records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), on September 28, 2017, Lawrence Torres received an censure  from the SEC, barring him from associating with any brokerage firm.  The SEC also imposed a fine of $160,000 and required him to disgorge an additional $225,359.  The SEC alleged that Lawrence Torres “violated the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws by recommending a high-cost pattern of frequent trading that he had no reasonable basis to believe would be suitable for eight of his customers or for anyone, by making material misrepresentations and omissions regarding the high-cost pattern of frequent trading that he recommended to those customers, by churning those customer accounts and by engaging in unauthorized trading therein.”

https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/2821373#disclosuresSection

In addition, according to Lawrence Torres’ FINRA BrokerCheck, he has been the subject of six (6) customer complaints, one of which remains pending.  In February 2018, a customer alleged “high pressure sales techniques-unsuitable investments” and alleged damages of $692,000.

Additional customer complaints have been filed against Lawrence Torres, including the following:

  • April 2017—Customer alleged “overconcentration in one security” and the “excessive” use of margin. Alleged damages are $232,000 and the matter remains pending.
  • March 2016—Customer alleged “churning, unsuitability, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud.” The matter was settled for $50,000.
  • November 2015—Customer alleged “unsuitability”, “breach of fiduciary” and “common law fraud.” The matter was settled for $95,000.

In addition to the customer complaints and regulatory infraction, Lawrence Torres was previously accused of passing counterfeit currency.

Brokerage firms are required by regulation to supervise the Financial Advisors they employ.  The failure of a brokerage firm to properly supervise its Financial Advisors imposes liability on the brokerage firm for investment losses caused by the Financial Advisor’s misconduct.

If you or someone you know was a customer of Lawrence Torres and you experienced investment losses, please contact the Wolper Law Firm, P.A. at 800.931.8452 or by email at mwolper@wolperlawfirm.com to discuss your specific situation and the legal options available.  The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. represents investors nationwide in securities litigation and arbitration.

Attorney Matthew Wolper

Attorney Matthew WolperMatt Wolper is a trial lawyer who focuses exclusively on securities litigation and arbitration. Mr. Wolper has handled hundreds of securities matters nationwide before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), JAMS, and in state and federal court. Mr. Wolper has handled and tried cases involving complex financial products and strategies ranging from traditional stocks and bonds to options, margin and other securities-based lending products, closed/open-end mutual funds, structured products, hedge funds, and penny stocks. [Attorney Bio]