FINRA ARBITRATION PANEL ENTERS $1 MILLION AWARD AGAINST WOODBURY FINANCIAL SERVICES

On June 25, 2018, a FINRA arbitration panel entered an award of $1,091,575.21 against Woodbury Financial Services, of Oakdale,  Minnesota, based on its failure to supervise former broker Robert Hayes Hoffman, who worked in Woodbury’s Greenwood, Indiana branch office. Mr. Hoffman was permanently barred from the securities industry in November 2017 and filed for bankruptcy prior to the FINRA arbitration.

According to the customers’ arbitration claim, Hoffman violated industry rules and standards of care by selling unsuitable securities including Hybrid Aircraft Company, Edgewood Property Group, LLC, and variable annuities investments, among others. The arbitrators found Woodbury Financial liable for permitting the unsuitable transactions by not exercising adequate supervision over Hoffman. The panel ordered compensatory damages of $970,107.21 and interest of $121,468.00.

Mr. Hoffman was barred from the securities industry in November 2017, based on his failure to cooperate with a FINRA investigation into customer allegations of unsuitable recommendations, unauthorized transactions, excessive trading, and private securities transactions, among others. Mr. Hoffman’s failure to cooperate with FINRA’s investigation by providing on the record testimony was a violation of FINRA Rules 8210 and 2010 and resulted in his bar from the securities industry.

Mr. Hoffman had previously been cited by FINRA for willful failure to amend his registration application form (Form U4) to report an IRS tax lien between January 2015 and September 2015.

If you or someone you know lost money with Robert Hoffman and/or Woodbury Financial Services as a result of an investment that was unsuitable for you or was misrepresented to you by your broker/financial advisor, please call the Frankowski Firm at 888.741.7503 or fill out this contact form.