Securities Arbitration Lawyer Blog
FINRA has suspended former Securities America, Inc. (SAI) broker Dale Allen Ramsperger from the securities industry for five months. Mr. Ramsperger consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he participated in a private securities transaction without prior written disclosure to his firm. His suspension is scheduled to begin on September 20, 2021, and end on February 19, 2022.
If you have suffered investment losses with Dale Allen Ramsperger, or Securities America, Inc., contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.
Iorio Altamirano LLP represents investors nationwide that have disputes with their financial advisors or brokerage firms.
FINRA Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2020065281001
Dale Allen Ramsperger and FINRA entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”) on August 27, 2021, after FINRA alleged that Mr. Ramsperger participated in a private securities transaction totaling $250,000 without prior written disclosure to SAI in violation of NASD Rule 3040 and FINRA Rules 3280 and 2010.
FINRA indicated that the matter originated from its review of the Form U5 that SAI filed for Mr. Ramsperger on January 13, 2020.
In November 2012, Mr. Ramsperger notified an elderly couple, who were former SAI customers, about an investment opportunity in a media company for which Mr. Ramsperger served as a minority shareholder and as an executive. The media company, which he had previously disclosed to SAI, was outside the scope of Mr. Ramsperger’s employment at the firm. Ultimately the couple invested in the company by purchasing a promissory note, which was a security, in the total amount of $250,000. Mr. Ramsperger drafted the note and related documents, provided the documents to the couple for execution, and signed the note on behalf of the media company. In 2017, at the end of the investment’s five-year term, the surviving spouse agreed with Mr. Ramsperger to reinvest in the company for another five years. Mr. Ramsperger drafted a revised promissory note, which he also executed on behalf of the media company. In 2019, the media company defaulted and stopped paying interest to the investor.
SAI prohibited its registered representatives from participating in private securities transactions without providing written notice to the firm. Mr. Ramsperger did not provide written notice to SAI prior to participating in the private securities transaction, for which he did not receive selling compensation, in either 2012 or 2017. Mr. Ramsperger’s failure was aggravated by the fact that he did not disclose that he was engaged in a private securities transaction on several attestations he provided to SAI after 2012.
Therefore, Mr. Ramsperger violated NASD Rule 3040 and FINRA Rules 3280 and 2010.
You can read more about private securities transactions here.
NASD Rule 3040 and FINRA Rules 3280 and 2010
FINRA Rule 3280, and its predecessor NASD Rule 3040, generally define a private securities transaction as any securities transaction outside the regular scope of an associated person’s employment with a FINRA member.
FINRA Rule 3280(b) and NASD 3040(b) both state that “[p]rior to participating in any private securities transaction, an associated person shall provide written notice to the member with which he is associated describing in detail the proposed transaction and the person’s proposed role therein and stating whether he has received or may receive selling compensation in connection with the transaction.”
A violation of FINRA Rule 3280 or NASD Rule 3040 is also a violation of FINRA Rule 2010, which requires associated persons, in the conduct of their business, to observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade.
Dale Allen Ramsperger (CRD#: 1601669)
Mr. Ramsperger was first associated with a FINRA member in 1987. In 1994, Mr. Ramsperger became registered with FINRA as, among other capacities, a General Securities Representative through his association with Securities America, Inc. On January 13, 2020, SAI filed a Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration (Form U5) for Mr. Ramsperger, terminating his registration with FINRA.
Mr. Ramsperger has been registered with DMK Advisor Group, Inc. since May 2020.
How to Recover Losses or Obtain a Free Consultation
If you have suffered investment losses with Dale Allen Ramsperger, or Securities America, Inc., contact New York securities arbitration lawyer Jorge Altamirano of Iorio Altamirano LLP at jorge@ia-law.com or toll-free at (855) 430-4010 for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.
Iorio Altamirano LLP is a securities arbitration law firm based in New York, NY. We pursue FINRA arbitration claims nationwide on behalf of investors to recover financial losses arising out of wrongful conduct by financial advisors and brokerage firms.