FINRA Group Claim filed against Capital Financial Services

The White Law Group announces the filing of a FINRA Arbitration claim against Capital Financial Services, Inc.

The White Law Group filed and submitted the FINRA claim on behalf of a group of unsophisticated retirees residing in Minnesota and North Dakota alleging claims for violation of common law fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, and negligent supervision.

The claim further alleges that Capital Financial Services, Inc. unsuitably invested the clients in the following high risk alternative investments, among others:

Priority Income Fund
ICON Leasing Fund Twelve LLC
Hartman Short Term Income Properties
Preferred Apartment Communities
Leaf Equipment Finance Fund 4
Bakken Income Fund
Healthcare Trust of America
US Energy Genesis Drilling Program
Hospitality Investors Trust
Carter Validus
American Finance Trust
Lightstone Value Plus REIT

The claim seeks damages between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000.

Before recommending an investment, a broker-dealer has a fiduciary duty to adequately disclose the risks involved in the investment and to perform the necessary due diligence to determine whether the investment is suitable for the investor.

It is alleged Capital Financial Services, Inc. failed to perform the necessary due diligence on these investments prior to recommending them to these particular investors.

It is further alleged that the financial advisor that handled the accounts at issue is Steven Knuttila. According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Knuttila has  been  the  subject  of  at  least two regulatory  events,  one  employment  separation and thirty-five customer  complaints.  Mr.  Knuttila was  also  recently  barred from  the  industry  in  any  capacity  as  a  result  of  the  regulatory  events.

According to D. Daxton White, managing partner of The White Law Group, ” It is unfortunate, but we believe that many more investors have suffered devastating losses due to this broker-dealer’s failure to supervise and don’t realize they have recovery options.”

“Brokerage firms are required to supervise their advisors to ensure that they are complying with FINRA rules. If it can be determined that Steven Knuttila violated FINRA rules and the employers failed to adequately supervise him, these firms can be held responsible for any resulting losses in a FINRA arbitration claim.”

FINRA Dispute Resolution is an arbitration venue for investors with claims against their brokerage firm or financial professional.  It provides investors with an opportunity to attempt to recoup their investment losses without filing such claims in court.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Franklin, Tennessee.

For more information The White Law Group and the claim filed against Capital Financial Services, Inc., please contact the firm at 1-888-637-5510 or visit https://whitesecuritieslaw.com.