SEC Takes Action Against Advisor for Operating with Revoked Registration

Posted on August 28th, 2023 at 1:12 PM
SEC Takes Action Against Advisor for Operating with Revoked Registration

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has barred an investment adviser representative from conducting business. According to the SEC consent order, Carla Lea Chastain continued to operate even after her registration had been revoked, and she had falsely claimed to hold an "IRA Distribution Specialist" designation.

In 2005, Chastain accepted a consent order issued by the Arkansas Securities Department to revoke her registration as an IAR and suspend her registration as a broker-dealer agent for 180 days based on suitability and churning violations, as reported by ThinkAdvisor.

Subsequently, in 2016, Chastain accepted a consent order where the Arkansas Securities Department determined that she engaged in securities fraud, violating Arkansas law. This violation concerned her offering of investment adviser services, as she misrepresented herself by falsely asserting that she was an IAR (Investment Adviser Representative), even after her registration had been revoked.

On January 24, 2022, Chastain consented to an order issued by the Arkansas Securities Department. The order determined that she had engaged in an investment advisory business without proper registration and misled clients about her authorization to provide investment advice. As a result, the SEC now has barred Chastain from being associated with investment advisers, broker-dealers, municipal securities dealers, municipal advisors, transfer agents, or nationally recognized statistical rating organizations.

 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.

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