FINRA Bars Jeffrey Rubin for Transactions Involving 31 NFL Players
On March 7, 2013, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) barred Jeffrey Rubin of Lighthouse Point, Florida, from the securities industry. Rubin was sanctioned for making unsuitable recommendations to an NFL player, advising him to invest in high-risk securities offered in a now-bankrupt casino project in Alabama. According to FINRA, the NFL player lost his investment of approximately $3,000,000. Thirty other players acting on Rubin’s advice invested funds in the same casino project. They lost approximately $40 million.
Rubin operated Pro Sports Financial, which provided financial services to professional athletes in exchange for an annual fee. According to FINRA, between March 2006 and June 2008–when he was a registered broker at Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation and Alterna Capital Corporation–Rubin recommended that one of his NFL clients invest a total of $3.5 million in four high-risk investments. Rubin advised and facilitated his client’s $2 million investment in the Alabama casino without informing his firm or obtaining its approval of this activity. FINRA determined that from approximately January 2008 through March 2011, 30 additional NFL players ponied up approximately $40 million for the same casino project. Rubin received a 4 percent ownership stake and $500,000 from the project promoter for his help in financing the casino project.
Brad Bennett, FINRA’s Chief of Enforcement stated, “This case demonstrates how broker misconduct can target high-income, inexperienced, and vulnerable investors. Jeffrey Rubin took advantage of professional athletes who placed their trust in him.”
In settling this matter, Rubin neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of FINRA’s findings.
Investors and shareholders can obtain more information about any FINRA-registered broker or brokerage firm, including disciplinary records, by using FINRA’s Broker Check without charge at www.finra.org/brokercheck.
For further information about this securities law blog post, please contact Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney at 101 Plaza Real S, Suite 202 N, Boca Raton, Florida, (561) 416-8956, by email at [email protected] or visit www.securitieslawyer101.com. This securities law blog post is provided as a general informational service to clients and friends of Hamilton & Associates Law Group and should not be construed as, and does not constitute, legal advice on any specific matter, nor does this message create an attorney-client relationship. Please note that the prior results discussed herein do not guarantee similar outcomes.
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