Mason Wayne Gann of Dallas Texas is a stockbroker formerly registered with Berthel Fisher and Company Financial Services Inc. who has been fined $5,000.00 and suspended from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity based upon consenting to findings that he placed unauthorized transactions in customers’ investment accounts. Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent No. 2015043584401 (Apr. 11, 2018).
According to the AWC, from January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015, Gann executed transactions on a discretionary basis in brokerage accounts owned by six customers. Apparently, customers never furnished Gann with written approval to place transactions in their accounts. The AWC stated that the firm also never authorized Gann to exercise discretion in any customer’s account during the time in which he placed those transactions. Gann reportedly effected approximately five hundred transactions in customers’ accounts without authorization. FINRA found Gann’s conduct to be violative of FINRA Rules 2010 and National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Conduct Rule 2510(b).
FINRA Public Disclosure confirms that Gann has been referenced in two customer initiated investment related disputes that pertain to accusations of Gann’s misconduct during the time he was registered with Berthel Fisher and Company Financial Services Inc. Specifically, on January 27, 2015, a customer filed an investment related complaint regarding Gann’s activities in which the customer requested more than $5,000.00 in damages founded on allegations that the customer’s investment account had been churned.
On January 19, 2018, another customer filed an investment related complaint involving Gann’s conduct where the customer sought $200,000.00 in damages supported by accusations of suitability relating to the customer’s investments in exchange traded funds, unit investment trusts, options and equities; the customer claimed that investments selected for his portfolio were not appropriate because they failed to address his tolerance for risk. Moreover, the customer alleged that Gann placed transactions which the customer never authorized and neglected to monitor the customer’s investment account.
Berthel Fisher and Company Financial Services Inc. fired Gann on February 12, 2018 based upon allegations that he potentially violated a heightened supervision plan.
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