On September 22, 2020, an arbitration panel for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) made findings against Jason K. Williams (CRD#: 4676003) and entered an award against him exceeding $45,000.

The award followed a customer’s complaint of unsuitable investments and negligent account management, violations of the Indiana Securities Act, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, violations of the FINRA Conduct Rules and NYSE Rules, respondeat superior, and negligence and negligent supervision.

Specifically, the customer’s complaint alleged that Williams, in contravention of the customer’s investment objective, risk tolerance, time horizon, overall age and retirement status, made numerous inappropriate investments, traded in and out of several stocks after short periods of time and over-concentrated the customer in several stocks, some of which Williams held himself and blogged about in comments he made on an internet discussion board.

The arbitration panel found Williams liable for $45,000 in compensatory damages, $500 in costs, and $23,000 in attorney’s fees.

According to BrokerCheck, Williams has worked for seven firms over his career:

• Thurston Springer Financial (CRD#: 8478) of Indianapolis, Indiana
• Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC (CRD#: 19616) of Indianapolis, Indiana
• Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD#: 7691) of Greenville, South Carolina
• Hatteras Capital (CRD#: 143365) of Raleigh, North Carolina
• Rafferty Capital Markets, LLC (CRD#: 23682) of Boston, Massachusetts
• John Hancock Funds, LLC (CRD# 28262) of Boston, Massachusetts
• UBS Financial Services Inc. (CRD#: 8174) of Weehawken, New Jersey

Williams’ BrokerCheck report reveals three additional disclosures: another customer complaint settled in December 2018, an employment separation in February 2019 following the firm’s discovery that Williams has posted unapproved comments in an internet discussion board about a stock he held and recommended to his clients, and a bankruptcy filing in November 2020.

If you lost money as a customer of Jason K. Williams, call the Frankowski Firm today at 888-741-7503 for a no-cost consultation. You can also complete our contact form to make an appointment.