David Lerner Associates Lawsuit & Complaints | FINRA & SEC Fines
The White Law Group is investigating complaints involving David Lerner Associates after FINRA fined the firm $15,000 for allegedly letting managers without the required municipal securities license supervise municipal bond sales at two branch offices. Here’s what’s on the firm’s record and what your options may be.
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FINRA has reportedly fined David Lerner Associates $15,000 for allegedly letting managers without the required municipal securities license supervise municipal bond sales at two branch offices. The White Law Group is investigating complaints involving David Lerner Associates. Here’s what’s on the firm’s record and what your options may be.
David Lerner Associates is a Syosset, New York brokerage firm with eight branch offices and about 120 registered representatives. If you lost money on an investment recommended by a David Lerner Associates broker, our FINRA arbitration attorneys offer a free consultation.
FINRA Fines David Lerner Associates Over Municipal Bond Supervision (October 2026)
In a settlement reported October 6, 2026, FINRA alleged that David Lerner Associates let two branch offices sell municipal securities without a properly qualified supervisor. The supervisors allegedly held only general securities principal licenses, not the municipal securities principal license that Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board rules require. The lapse allegedly ran from January 2022 to September 2024 at one branch and to April 2026 at the other, covering about 4,000 municipal securities trades.
FINRA censured the firm and fined it $15,000 for violating Rules G-2 and G-3. David Lerner Associates has since put qualified supervisors in place at both branches and reviewed the trades made before the fix.
SEC Fines David Lerner Associates for Regulation Best Interest Violations (May 2026)
On May 27, 2026, the SEC entered a settled order finding that David Lerner Associates willfully violated Regulation Best Interest. According to the SEC, the firm’s brokers made at least 253 recommendations from June 2020 through September 2024 to sell Class A mutual fund shares held less than a year and buy Class A shares in a different fund family. Those switches triggered about $230,088 in new sales charges paid to the firm and its brokers. The brokers allegedly did not consider that customers could buy Class A shares in the same fund family without a new sales charge.
The SEC also found the firm had no adequate policies for its “customized investment plans.” Hundreds of customers bought investments listed in those plans, generating at least $2.5 million in transaction fees. The firm was censured and ordered to pay about $201,681, including a $60,000 penalty. The SEC created a Fair Fund to return money to harmed investors.
FINRA Orders $1 Million in Restitution Over Energy 11 and Energy Resources 12 (May 2025)
On May 20, 2025, FINRA sanctioned David Lerner Associates over sales of Energy 11, L.P. and Energy Resources 12, L.P., two illiquid oil and gas partnerships the firm sold as proprietary products. According to FINRA, brokers made unsuitable recommendations of these partnerships to about 200 customers from January 2015 through November 2019. More than 120 of those sales went to customers aged 76 or older whose investment profiles were updated around the time of the recommendation in a way that made them eligible to buy.
Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm agreed to a censure, $1,002,566 in restitution, and a two-year suspension from selling proprietary, illiquid products. FINRA did not impose a fine, citing the restitution, the cost of the other sanctions, and the firm’s finances.
FINRA also fined and suspended three individuals. Daniel Todd Lerner (CRD#: 1255769) was fined $5,000 and suspended for two months for allegedly recommending $60,000 of a partnership to a 92-year-old retiree, about 25 percent of her liquid net worth. Maxim Tulupnikoff (CRD#: 6188857) was fined $5,000 and suspended for two months over nine purchases totaling $147,946 for a married couple saving for retirement. AltsWire reported that Martin Lerner, a former supervisor, was fined $10,000 and suspended for one month for failing to reasonably supervise these sales.
David Lerner Associates Complaints and Arbitration Claims
Energy 11 and Energy Resources 12 do not trade on an exchange and have no ready secondary market, so investors cannot easily sell. Many David Lerner Associates customers have filed complaints and FINRA arbitration claims over these partnerships and other recommendations. Daniel Todd Lerner’s BrokerCheck report alone lists 19 customer disputes, five still pending, and past Energy 11 claims involving him settled for as much as $918,750.
David Lerner Associates Regulatory History
As of early October 2026, the firm’s BrokerCheck report listed 23 regulatory events and 19 arbitrations. The new municipal securities settlement had not yet been added. Earlier actions include:
- 2017, New Jersey: A $700,000 civil penalty, with $200,000 suspended, over sales of Apple REIT 7, Apple REIT 8 and Apple REIT 9 to investors who did not meet the prospectus suitability standards.
- 2017, FINRA: A $75,000 fine for late or missing regulatory filings, including unreported written customer complaints.
- 2012, FINRA: A $14 million settlement over unfair sales practices in Apple REIT Ten and excessive markups on municipal bonds and collateralized mortgage obligations. A FINRA hearing panel also found the firm willfully failed to supervise municipal bond pricing.
- 2004, SEC: A $50,000 penalty after brokers allegedly recommended unsuitable, illiquid REIT purchases on margin.
Contact The White Law Group
If a David Lerner Associates broker recommended an investment that cost you money, you may be able to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration. The White Law Group is a team of national securities fraud attorneys with offices in Chicago and Seattle. Since 2010, our firm has handled over 800 FINRA arbitration cases involving investment fraud, negligence, and unsuitable recommendations.
Call us today at (888) 637-5510 for a free consultation, or contact us online.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I file a claim or lawsuit to recover money lost with David Lerner Associates?
You can typically seek recovery by filing a FINRA arbitration claim. Most brokerage account agreements include a pre-dispute arbitration clause, and many retail investors don’t know it exists, so claims generally go to FINRA arbitration instead of court. Arbitration can still result in a monetary recovery.
What makes an investment recommendation unsuitable?
An unsuitable recommendation is one that doesn’t fit your age, finances, goals or risk tolerance. Brokers must also consider cost and act in your best interest under Regulation Best Interest. According to FINRA, David Lerner Associates brokers made unsuitable recommendations of illiquid energy partnerships to about 200 customers, many of them seniors.
Can David Lerner Associates be held responsible for a broker’s bad recommendation?
Yes, a firm may be liable if it failed to reasonably supervise its brokers. Firms must have systems that catch red flags, like investor profiles updated right before a risky purchase. FINRA has cited David Lerner Associates for supervisory failures several times, including in 2025 and 2026.
