Erez Law is currently investigating former First American Securities Inc. broker Thomas Brenner (CRD# 1489233), who was barred by FINRA related to investments in United RL Capital Services.
He was registered with First American Securities Inc. in Orrville, Ohio, from 2011 to 2016. He served as president of First American Securities Inc. FINRA expelled First American Securities Inc. in March 2017 after it failed to pay more than $300,000 in penalties and disgorgement in a settlement related to private placement securities related to medical laboratory developments.
Previously, he was registered with Capstone Financial Group, Inc. in Forest Lake, Minnesota, from 2010 to 2011.
Public records indicate that in March 2015, he recommended clients invest in United RL Capital Services, one of three fake companies that were part of a $102 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 600 investors throughout the U.S. through sales of securities in issuers they controlled.
In August 2016, FINRA sanctioned him to pay $30,000 in civil and administrative penalties and fines, $189,000 in disgorgement, and suspended him for 16 months. According to the Acceptance, Waive & Consent (AWC), he consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he “engaged in two separate private placements which were rife with supervisory and substantive violations. The findings stated that in soliciting customers to purchase a private placement offering, Brenner provided customers with a Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) for the offering and a Program Summary, the latter which provided a brief summary of the offering. Both the PPM and the Program Summary contained several statements that claimed or implied that the investments were secured, or suggested a level of safety in the investments, or reliability in forecasting returns by investors. By distributing the PPM and Program Summary to investors, Brenner negligently made untrue statements of material facts or omitted to state material facts necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and also made statements which were not fair and balanced, and were misleading, exaggerated, and unwarranted.”
In July 2017, FINRA barred him after he “consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he refused to appear for FINRA requested on-the-record testimony regarding his involvement in the sale of three different private placements issued by persons or entities with which he had personal or business relationships. The findings stated that FINRA recently received tips or complaints from numerous investors who invested in one or more of these private placements, and who were concerned about their inability to contact the issuers, and the issuers’ failure to liquidate or redeem their investments and return the funds to these investors. These investors were generally member of Brenner’s hometown community in Ohio, and many of them were seniors.”
In June 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges and obtained an asset freeze against Thomas Brenner as well as Perry Santillo, Christopher Parris (CRD# 4552325), Paul LaRocco (CRD# 1829706), and John Piccarreto (CRD# 6276418). Securities included First Nationle Solution LLC, United RL Capital Services, and Percipience Global Corp. Perry Santillo, Christopher Parris, Paul LaRocco, and John Piccarreto and the three issuers were charged with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws.
The Department of Justice filed fraud charges against Thomas Brenner in 2021.
In October 2023, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail, wire and securities fraud that enabled him to acquire funds to pay for a race car and finance back taxes. As a result, he was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and was ordered to pay $3.5 million in restitution and serve three years of supervised release. According to the complaint, he informed investors that invested funds would provide double-digit returns. However, it is alleged that he spent at least $20 million for his personal betterment, including purchasing a race car and paying back taxes owed. Public records also indicate that he paid $38.5 million in Ponzi-like payments.
Pursuant to FINRA Rules, member firms are responsible for supervising a broker’s activities during the time the broker is registered with the firm. Therefore, First American Securities Inc. may be liable for investment or other losses suffered by Thomas Brenner’s customers.
Erez Law represents investors in the United States for claims against brokers and brokerage firms for wrongdoing. If you have experienced investment losses, please call us at 888-840-1571 or complete our contact form for a free consultation. Erez Law is a nationally recognized law firm representing individuals, trusts, corporations and institutions in claims against brokerage firms, banks and insurance companies on a contingency fee basis.
"*" indicates required fields
