Valentino Scott Allegedly Misrepresented Unsuitable Investments

Valentino Scott (CRD #: 1497615), a broker registered with Centaurus Financial, allegedly made misrepresentations and recommended unsuitable investments, according to his BrokerCheck record, accessed on May 6, 2022. Keep reading if you have questions about Valentino Scott’s conduct as a broker.

Investor Disputes

On March 17, 2022, multiple investors filed a dispute alleging that Valentino Scott made unsuitable investment recommendations; over-concentrated clients’ accounts in unsuitable, illiquid, and risky investments. They further alleged he misrepresented these investments. The dispute is pending.

Another pending dispute, filed on March 23, 2020, alleges that Valentino Scott recommended and over-concentrated the investor’s accounts in unsuitable investments between 2014 and 2020. The client seeks $500,000 in damages.

What are unsuitable investments?

FINRA Rule 2111 requires brokers to tailor their investment recommendations to fit investors’ profiles. An investor’s profile includes information about their investment experience, financial goals, tax status, and risk tolerance. 

Some examples of unsuitable investments include:

• Investments that come with a high risk of underachieving or total failure.
• Illiquid securities are designed to be held for a long period of time, making them harder to trade on short notice and likely to incur high fees for the investor that tries to cash out.
• An excessive number of trades can rack up commissions and fees for the investor, known as quantitative unsuitability.

Unsuitable investment strategies, such as over-concentration, also violate FINRA Rule 2111.

Investors can attempt to recover their losses from unsuitable investment recommendations or strategies by seeking FINRA arbitration.

FINRA Rule 2020

Misrepresentation of investments constitutes a violation of FINRA Rule 2020, which bans the use of deceptive, manipulative, and otherwise fraudulent means of influencing investors’ decisions.

Background Information

Valentino Scott has passed the following exams:

• Series 63 – Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination
• SIE – Securities Industry Essentials Examination
• Series 7 – General Securities Representative Examination
• Series 6 – Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Representative Examination

Valentino Scott is a registered broker in 28 states and a registered investment adviser in Alabama and California.

He has also worked for the following firms:

• Montano Securities (CRD#:7887)
• Fortis Investors (CRD#:421)
• Pruco Securities (CRD#:5685)

Kurta Law Can Help

If you worked with Valentino Scott and you have concerns about your investments, please contact us today at 877-600-0098 or info@kurtalawfirm.com for a free consultation.

For over 20 years, Kurta Law has advocated on behalf of investors who want to recover their investment losses from brokers and brokerage firms. Kurta Law is a nationally recognized law firm and exclusively represents investors against brokers and brokerage firms on a contingency basis. This means that the firm only earns a fee if our securities attorneys recover money on your behalf.