Former Gold Coast Securities Broker Named in FINRA Complaint Alleging Churning
Joseph Farah, a former registered representative with Gold Coast Securities, was named a Respondent in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) complaint for allegedly engaging in a fraudulent churning scheme, causing his customer to suffer substantial losses. Joseph C. Farah, of Hacienda Heights, California, is alleged by FINRA to have acted with intent to defraud and reckless disregard for his customer’s interests by churning his customer’s account. According to FINRA, Mr. Farah allegedly executed more than 600 trades in his customer’s account, causing the account to diminish in value by over 25%. The FINRA complaint alleges that Mr. Farah failed to inform his member firm that he had discretionary authority over the customer’s account, which Mr. Farah suggested she open at TD Ameritrade. FINRA’s complaint notes that the customer’s annual income was listed as just $25,000 – $49,999, which was correct, but her investment experience was incorrectly described as 1-2 years of experience. FINRA found that she actually had no investing experience.
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