Former PFS Investments Inc. (PFS) broker Darwin Hayle has been banned from the financial industry and fined $42,500 for allegedly misappropriating investor funds. Darwin Hayle, of Boca Raton, Florida, allegedly sold promissory notes to his clients, claiming the notes were backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), according to the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (FL-OFR) complaint. However, Darwin Hayle allegedly showed the investors false documents which included a forged signature of an SBA representative. The FL-OFR never approved those promissory notes as legal securities and they were never guaranteed by the SBA.
According to FINRA’s Broker Check, Darwin Hayle, solicited $10,000 from a customer for investment in a non-PFS investment product into which the money was never invested. PFS settled the complaint for $5,000. PFS settled another complaint against Darwin Hayle in which an investor gave Hayle $15,000 under the guise of an SBA loan. The FL-OFR states that Mr. Hayle used the investors’ funds for his own and his mother’s personal use.
All broker-dealers, including PFS Investments, have a fiduciary duty to protect customers from broker misconduct. They are required by law to establish and implement a reasonable supervisory system in order to prevent broker misconduct. If broker-dealers do not establish and implement these protective measures, they may be liable to investors for damages flowing from the misconduct. Therefore, investors who have suffered losses stemming from a financial professional’s misappropriation of funds and/or other fraudulent activity can bring forth claims to recover damages against broker-dealers like PFS Investments, which should consistently oversee its employees’ activities in order to prevent the above-described prohibited conduct.
Have you suffered losses in your investment account due to your 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 stockbrokers and other financial professionals for misappropriation of funds, mismanagement of accounts, and/or other unauthorized and illegal conduct.
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 , 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.
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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