Commonwealth Financial Network Broker Suspended by FINRA for Securities Investment Misrepresentations

James Johnson, a former broker at the Waltham Massachusetts-based Commonwealth Financial Network, submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the described sanction and the entry of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that he made negligent misrepresentations and omissions regarding a securities investment. FINRA found that James Michael Johnson, of Richmond Virginia, discussed with his member firm customers a purchase of a 10% interest in West Virginia Farm Properties, LLC, a company formed to develop rural land into a residential neighborhood in West Virginia. Mr. Johnson misrepresented to the customers that all development costs had been covered; that the infrastructure for building the homes was already in place; that the houses were ready to be built on the property; and that the customers’ investment would allow the company to begin building homes immediately.

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