Colling Gilbert Wright is Investigating and Pursuing FINRA Claims Against Lawson Financial Corporation
The securities arbitration attorneys at Colling Gilbert Wright and Carter currently represent clients of Lawson Financial Corporation who were sold municipal revenue bonds that are subject of a recent Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) disciplinary proceeding.
In May 2016, FINRA filed disciplinary action (#2014043854401) against Lawson Financial Corporation (LFC) and its CEO and Chief Compliance Officer Robert Warren Lawson (CRD #501167) and Pamela Denise Lawson (CRD #1475253). The FINRA regulator proceeding alleges the firm and it’s principals “carried out a massive securities fraud in connection with the sale of millions of dollars of municipal revenue bonds to Lawson Financial Corporation customers, in violation of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), Rule 10b-5 there under and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) Rule G-17. During this same period, and continuing through the present, Robert Lawson also misused customer funds in violation of FINRA Rules 2150(a) and 2010, and Robert Lawson and Respondent Pamela Lawson violated FINRA Rule 2010 by abusing their positions as co-trustees of a charitable remainder trust by improperly transferring millions of dollars from the trust in an undisclosed attempt to prop up the faltering borrowers of the municipal revenue bonds.”
According to FINRA, LFC and Robert Lawson’s fraudulent securities sales involved four municipal revenue bonds: the Hillcrest Bonds, the Decatur Bonds, the Cullman Bonds, and the Destiny Bonds. Lawson Financial Corporation and Robert Lawson’s fraudulent bond sales included bond sales made in primary market sales to Lawson Financial Corporation customers in the initial bond offering period for the Hillcrest Bonds, as sold commencing in October 2014, as well as later secondary market bond sales of the Hillcrest Bonds to Lawson Financial Corporation customers in 2015. In addition, Lawson Financial Corporation and Robert Lawson’s alleged fraudulent bond sales included secondary market bond sales made (i) to Lawson Financial Corporation customers who purchased the Cullman Bonds and Decatur Bonds between January 2013 and July 2015, and (ii) to Lawson Financial Corporation customers who purchased the Destiny Bonds between May 2015 and September 2015.
The Destiny Bonds and Hillcrest Bonds funded a charter school located in Mesa, Arizona, while the Cullman Bonds and Decatur Bonds funded two assisted living facilities located in, respectively, Cullman and Decatur, Alabama. The charter school and the two assisted living facilities (the conduit borrowers for the municipal revenue bonds) each suffered from severe financial difficulties and were unable to meet their required operating expenses. Moreover, the Cullman and Decatur assisted living facilities often were unable to meet required debt service payments on the Cullman Bonds and the Decatur Bonds without using funds from the charitable remainder trust account at LFC.
If you have been harmed by the recommended sale of a municipal security by representatives of Lawson Financial Corporation, contact the securities litigation attorneys at Colling Gilbert Wright for a free case evaluation. There is no fee unless we are successful in obtaining you compensation for your losses.