One Dallas Adviser Suspended, A Second Ordered to Repay Commissions

Jun 7
2019

Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles on June 6 sanctioned two Dallas-area investment adviser representatives for selling unsuitable investments to clients.

The Commissioner suspended investment adviser representative Mark A. Trewitt for 90 days for selling unsuitable investments to clients, including one couple who invested half of their liquid assets in an Oregon-based private fund that collapsed in 2016.

Trewitt is an investment adviser representative for Delta Investment Management LLC of Plano. He told the unsuitable investments while employed at VFG Advisors Inc.

Trewitt's clients invested $173,306 in the fund, which was exactly half of their liquid assets. Investors nationwide lost as much as $600 million in the fund, which was one of the investment vehicles managed by Aequitas Management of Portland, Ore.

Trewitt also recommended that two other clients, a husband and wife in their 70s who had stated a preference for moderate risk in their portfolio, invest $275,000 in high-risk, illiquid private placement investments, non-listed Real Estate Investment Trusts, and Business Development companies.

The couple's investment accounted for 40% of their liquid assets.

In a second Disciplinary Order, the Commissioner ordered Clair Crossland of Dallas to repay $88,933 to clients who purchased stream-of-income investments tied to the payouts from pensions. The payment is double the amount of commission Crossland earned from the sales.

Crossland is president of LFS RIA LLC, a Dallas investment advisory firm.

Crossland did not understand the complexities of stream-of-income investments and the risks they posed to his clients.

At the time Crossland sold the investments to his clients, state and federal regulators had issued warnings about the risks of the transactions – including the fact that some transactions may be illegal under federal law – and sanctioned several companies selling investments based on pension-income streams.

The State Securities Board issued an Investor Alert about pension advance schemes in 2016.

Scams and Unsuitable Investments

Certain types of investments–even if they are legitimate– should always raise red flags. If an investment seems overly complicated, promises large returns with minimal risk, or claims to be a "can't miss," just walk away.

The State Securities Board publication Scams and Unsuitable Investments can help you identify threats to your financial health – the investment products, practices, and, equally important, the people who try to sell you a suspect investment offering.