| Read Time: 2 minutes | Broker Misconduct | Stockbrokers In The News |

William Charlton Mays of Corpus Christi, Texas was barred from association with any FINRA member due to his conversion and misuse of customer funds while he was a representative of SWS Financial Services. Around August 2011, while Mr. Mays was still a member of SWS, he recommended a client to invest $50,000 in stocks and commodities. Mr. Mays allegedly told his client the $50,000 investment would yield 6% annual return. On September 6, 2011, Mr. Mays deposited the client’s $50,000 check into a bank account for May’s Financial Group, an organization Mr. Mays controls. A month later, his client requested his funds be returned, but Mays initially told the investor he couldn’t get the funds (but later gave his client $40,000).

FINRA found that between September 2011 and October 2011 Mr. Mays converted and used upwards of $30,000 from his clients’ investment for personal expenses. For violation of FINRA conduct Rule 2150(a) and Rule 2010, Mr. Mays was barred from association with any FINRA member, ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, and ordered to pay restitution.

Stockbrokers, financial advisors, and other financial industry professionals have been known to engage in many types of misconduct which violate industry rules and procedures. In order to protect investors from such misconduct, FINRA rules require brokerage firms to establish and implement a reasonable supervisory system. The implementation of the rules requires supervisors to monitor employees to ensure compliance with federal and state securities laws, securities industry rules and regulations, and the brokerage firm’s own policies and procedures. If broker dealers and/or their supervisors fail to establish and implement these protective measures, they may be held liable to investment account holders for losses flowing from the employees’ misconduct. As a result, investors who have suffered losses stemming from unauthorized securities transactions or other misconduct by their broker or registered representative can bring forth claims to recover damages against broker dealers like SWS Financial Services, which have a duty to supervise its employees in order to prevent broker misconduct.

Have you suffered losses in your SWS Financial Services account due to William Mays or another registered representative or stockbroker’s misconduct? If so, call Robert Pearce at the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. for a free consultation. Mr. Pearce is accepting clients with valid claims against financial professionals for fraud and other types of stockbroker misconduct.

The most important of investors’ rights is the right to be informed! This Investors’ Rights blog post is by the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., located in Boca Raton, Florida. For over 40 years, Attorney Pearce has tried, arbitrated, and mediated hundreds of disputes involving complex securities, commodities, and investment law issues. The lawyers at our law firm are devoted to protecting investors’ rights throughout the United States and internationally! Please post a comment, call (800) 732-2889, send Mr. Pearce an email at pearce@rwpearce.com, and/or visit our website at www.secatty.com for answers to any of your questions about this blog post and/or any related matter.

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Robert Wayne Pearce

Robert Wayne Pearce of The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. has been a trial attorney for more than 40 years and has helped recover over $125 million dollars for his clients. During that time, he developed a well-respected and highly accomplished legal career representing investors and brokers in disputes with one another and the government and industry regulators. To speak with Attorney Pearce, call (800) 732-2889 or Contact Us online for a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION with Attorney Pearce about your case.

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