Fraud Alert: Lawson Financial Suspected of Alleged Bond Fraud

A complaint for securities fraud in connection with the sale of millions of dollars in municipal revenue bonds has been filed by the regulatory agency, FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), against Lawson Financial Corporation, Inc., and Robert Lawson, the firm’s President and CEO.  Lawson Financial Corporation, Inc., is an investment banking and securities firm with its main office in Phoenix, Arizona.  The complaint also alleges that Robert Lawson misused customer funds.

FINRA’s securities fraud complaint (Case No. 2014043854401) was filed on May 16, 2016 by the Office of Hearing Officers with the Department of Enforcement.  The complaint includes securities fraud allegations for an October 2014 municipal revenue bond offering in which Lawson Financial Corporation underwrote $10.5 million in municipal bonds for Hillcrest Academy School, a charter school in Mesa, Arizona and subsequently sold the Hillcrest municipal bonds to customers in the secondary market.  Lawson Financial Corporation, Inc. is also accused of fraudulently selling municipal revenue bonds for the Destiny Community School Project (later renamed the Hillcrest Academy) and municipal revenue bonds regarding two different assisted living facilities; First Mortgage Healthcare Facility Revenue Bonds in Decatur, Alabama and First Mortgage Healthcare Facility Revenue Bonds in Cullman, Alabama.

FINRA’s securities fraud complaint claims that Lawson Financial Corporation and Robert Lawson fraudulently hid from customers who purchased municipal bonds the true financial condition of the charter school and the two assisted living facilities.  The securities fraud complaint alleges that Lawson Financial Corporation and Robert Lawson failed to disclose to customers who bought the municipal bonds the material fact that the entities were not able to pay operating expenses and sometimes were not able to make interest payments on the municipal bonds.  The securities fraud complaint goes on to allege that money was fraudulently transferred from a deceased customer’s trust account to pay for these costs.

Read the entire FINRA article at https://www.finra.org/newsroom/2016/finra-files-complaint-charging-lawson-financial-corporation-ceo-fraudulent-municipal.

Investors who purchased any municipal revenue bonds from Lawson Financial Corporation, Inc. related to Hillcrest Academy School, Destiny Community School Project, or First Mortgage Health Care Facility can contact Bingham Law today at 480.832.1922 to schedule a consultation about potential claims.  You may be able to recover your losses. We encourage you to avoid delay since time to file your claim may be limited.

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Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) is an independent, non-governmental regulator who oversees the people and firms that sell stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other securities to the public in the United States. They are authorized by Congress to protect investors. They do this by making sure the securities industry operates fairly and honestly with the public.