Securities Lawyers Blog
Gana Weinstein LLP is investigating LPL Financial after its stunning termination of James “Jeb” Bashaw, a former broker with LPL Financial. According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck Report, LPL Financial terminated Mr. Bashaw for “participating in private securities transactions without providing written disclosure to and obtaining written approval from the firm.”
In addition, LPL explained that it terminated Mr. Bashaw for borrowing money from a client and engaging in a business transaction that created a “potential conflict of interest without providing written disclosure to and obtaining written approval from the firm.” Finally, LPL Financial stated that Mr. Bashaw failed to follow firm policies and industry regulations. Mr. Bashaw was discharged on September 24, 2014. In response, Mr. Bashaw stated that he was home supervised and had 13 perfect audits. Furthermore, he stated that he was still unclear as to the specifics of the discharge.
Mr. Bashaw started his career with Merrill Lynch, Pierce Fenner & Smith, Inc. and worked there for about two years and four months. Over his thirty year career, he also worked at Kidder, Peabody & Co., Thomas F. White & Co., First America Equities Corp., Augusta Securities Corp., Suntrust Equitable Securities, J.C. Bradford & Co., UBS Painewebber, Inc. and was most recently working at Wunderlich Securities, Inc.
Mr. Bashaw has had two customer complaints lodged against him. The first was while he was employed at Kidder Peabody & Co. A customer alleged that Mr. Bashaw breached his fiduciary duties and churned the customer’s account. The customer alleged $620,000 in damages and requested $1,000,000 in punitive damages. Kidder Peabody settled the case for $200,000. A second complaint was lodged against Mr. Bashaw while he was employed at LPL Financial. According to the complaint, Mr. Bashaw sold a customer unsuitable unit investment trusts that were unsuitable. The claim was for $20,804.28 and it settled for $10,000.
Mr. Bashaw has also disclosed five outside business activities throughout his career. In 2002, he disclosed that he was doing business through James E. Bashaw & Company, Inc. In July 2004, he disclosed a business related to non-variable insurance. In 2006 he disclosed that he acted in a fiduciary capacity for a family trust. In 2010 he disclosed that he was on the board of some charities and finally in April of 2010, he disclosed that he was on the board of additional companies.
In 2011, Investment News, explained that Mr. Bashaw had approximately 24 brokers working for him. Barron’s magazine ranked Mr. Bashaw as the top financial adviser in Texas with approximately $3.8 billion assets under management. Mr. Bashaw’s successful past makes LPL Financial’s disclosures even more unprecedented. Bashaw was fired from LPL in September and then quickly began working only to leave Wunderlich, on or about October 9, 2014.
According to InvestmentNews, Wunderlich recently cut ties with Bashaw but would not elaborate on the reasoning behind the sudden change in direction. “We have mutually agreed to end that relationship, or potential relationship,” Wunderlich spokeswoman, Kathy Ridley, said, “Mr. Bashaw will not be coming over to Wunderlich.” One can only assume that Bashaw’s alleged misdeeds at LPL had something to do with Wunderlich’s decision to turn away a financial advisor with a $3 billion book of business. Gana Weinstein LLP is a nationally recognized securities arbitration firm with experience in all forms of securities disputes. If you invested with Mr. Bashaw, Gana Weinstein LLP will review your claim forensically to determine if you have a case. For a free consultation, please contact our firm at 212-776-4251 or by email at agana@ganallp.com.