Centaurus Broker Bill Burks Involved in More Customer Disputes
Bill Burks (CRD# 2944992), a broker registered with Centaurus Financial and doing business as Burks Financial Group, is embroiled in investor disputes alleging he recommended unsuitable products. These disputes can be found in his BrokerCheck profile, a record published by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and accessed on July 19, 2023. More information about the Flower Mound, Texas representative’s alleged conduct can be found below.
Pending Disputes Allege Risky Investments
Three investors or parties of investors lodged disputes involving Mr. Burks between October 2022 and May 2023. The disputes include allegations that he recommended unsuitable, risky, and illiquid investments, including real estate and penny stock options. All three disputes remain pending, with one seeking $57,563 in damages and the other two seeking unstated damages.
Bill Burks “Vehemently” Denies Allegations
Mr. Burks resisted the above-described allegations in comments that can be found on his BrokerCheck profile. “I vehemently deny any wrongdoing and assert that the allegations are completely without merit,” he wrote about each of the three disputes. “At all times, I put the customer’s interest first and I will vigorously defend this matter to the fullest extent of the law.”
Past Disputes Settled for More than $500,000
Seven investors or parties of investors have filed disputes involving Mr. Burks that were settled by his member firm, according to his BrokerCheck profile. The disputes in question were filed between 2012 and 2021, and they alleged conduct including over-concentration, unsuitable investment recommendations, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation of material information, and the mishandling of accounts. His member firm settled the disputes, all of whose allegations he made statements denying, for more than $500,000 in total.
Broker Fraud Takes Many Forms
The pending and settled disputes involving Mr. Burks describe various forms of broker fraud. Unsuitable recommendations, for example, are those involving investments that are inappropriate for a customer’s profile, which includes their background, goals, and tolerance for risk. Over-concentration describes the placement of a disproportionate amount of an investor’s assets in one security, asset class, or sector, exposing the portfolio to the risk of significant losses if that security, asset class, or sector performs poorly. Breach of fiduciary duty, finally, describes an advisor’s failure to place the client’s interests ahead of their own.
Bill Burks Based in Flower Mound, Texas
Burks started his career as a broker 1997, when he joined PFS Investments in Duluth, Georgia. He left PFS for Centaurus Financial in 2000, working out of the firm’s office in Flower Mound, Texas. He has remained there since, doing business under the brand Burks Financial. With 25 years of experience as a broker, he has completed two state securities law exams, three general industry/products exams, and one principal/supervisory exam.
Have you lost money investing with Bill Burks?
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