New York Families Claim Questar Capital Broker Spun $700,000 Web of Deceit

NEW YORK, Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Securities Fraud Attorney Mark A. Tepper has filed claim against Questar Capital for allegedly deceiving four New York families while recommending that they take home equity loans, to put even more than they could afford into a worthless investment in China.

In the claim filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Tepper, a former New York Assistant Attorney General and Chief Trial Counsel at the Bureau of Investor Protection and Securities, alleges that investigations reveal that some 21 families were deceived. "Investors who believe they were similarly misled need to be aware of their legal rights," he said.

The claim contends that a Questar broker while at the company's Melville, New York branch, persuaded a number of clients to take home equity lines of credit while recommending that they purchase "the best investment available." "It was, in fact, a high risk, unregistered investment product that exceeded their risk tolerance," the claim alleges.

The practice of "selling away," is a violation of financial industry standards and occurs when a registered representative engages in a private securities transaction without knowledge or consent of the broker dealer. "Selling away constitutes a 'failure to supervise' by the firm," the claim argues.

The Claim contends that prior to Questar breaching its duty to supervise its broker, the SEC had warned broker-dealers, like Questar, that small, remote offices, like its Melville Office, require vigilant supervision. In spite of these warnings, "Questar failed to act decisively to detect and prevent its Agent's unsuitable, unregistered, private securities transactions, misrepresentations, omissions and selling away which caused Claimants' collective losses of more than $700,000," the claim alleges.

About Mark A. Tepper, P.A. (www.MarkTepper.com)

Attorney Mark Tepper has earned the reputation of "Investor Advocate" while practicing law for over 30 years and representing the small investor. FINRA arbitrators recently upheld claims filed by Tepper against a number of large financial services companies, recovering investor losses from Merrill Lynch (MER) for high risk investment in Fannie Mae Preferred Stock, as well as against AmTrust Investment Services. A member of the Florida, New York and California Bars, Mr. Tepper is AV®-rated, the highest rating of lawyers in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

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