Micah James Eldred Audit (2023) – A Scam or Legit Broker?

Micah James Eldred  – and the firm that employs him or her – is regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

If you are like most people, before you go out to dinner at a new restaurant, you probably take a quick look at the reviews. This makes sense; you are going to pay for an expensive dinner, and you need to be sure that you are getting a good value.

Yet, when choosing a financial advisor, many people fail to conduct this same level of due diligence. Before turning over access to your money, you need to be sure that you have found a financial advisor that you can trust. Here, our audit report, including details of allegations, complaints, and sanctions will help you decide whether or not to invest with Micah James Eldred.

BrokerComplaints.com is currently investigating allegations related to Micah James Eldred. We provide a free platform for investors to help them in their claims against negligent brokers and brokerage firms.

About Micah Eldred

Micah James Eldred is an Investment Adviser. Micah James Eldred’s Central Registration Depository (CRD) number is 1959598 and the FINRA Profile can be found at – https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/1959598.

Click here to download a Detailed Audit Report for Micah James Eldred.

Micah James Eldred has previously been reprimanded and has disclosures and/or client dispute(s) listed at FINRA BrokerCheck.

Accusations and Disclosures

You can find below, a quick snapshot of Micah James Eldred’s regulatory actions, arbitrations, and complaints.

DISCLOSURE 1 – 

• Event Date: 8/31/2022
• Disclosure Type: Regulatory
• Disclosure Resolution: Pending
• Disclosure Detail :: DocketNumberFDA:
• Initiated By: UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
• Allegations: The Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) deems it appropriate and in the public interest that public administrative proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted pursuant to Section 15(b)(6) and 17A(c)(4) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) against Micah J. Eldred ( espondent or Eldred). The Division of Enforcement alleges that on August 10, 2022, after entry of a jury verdict against Eldred, a District Court Judge entered a final judgment against Eldred, enjoining him for a period of five (5) years from future violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder, in the civil action entitled Securities and Exchange Commission v. Eldred, et al., Civil Action Number 8:19-cv-00448-VMC-CPT, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The Commission’s complaint alleged, among other things, that from May 2011 through at least May 2014, Eldred, in connection with the purchase or sale of securities, made material misrepresentations and omissions in violation of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder. For example, Eldred made material misrepresentations and omissions when assisting issuers in the process of becoming publicly quoted, including in applications or submissions made pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 15c2-11. Eldred made misrepresentations and omissions to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) when submitting Form 211 applications for issuers seeking to initiate or resume quotations of the issuer’s security. Eldred’s misrepresentations and omissions to FINRA related to, among other things, the identity of consultants or persons in control of the issuers; the issuer’s plans for potential mergers or acquisitions; and, the identity of the person or entity for whom a security’s quotation was being submitted. Eldred also initiated and provided false information for applications filed with the Depository Trust Company (DTC) or its participants when seeking DTC eligibility for issuers, including making misrepresentations and omissions related to whether issuers were shell or blank check companies.
• Sanction Details ::

DISCLOSURE 2 – 

• Event Date: 2/20/2019
• Disclosure Type: Civil
• Disclosure Resolution: Final
• Disclosure Detail :: Initiated By: UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
• Allegations: The Securities and Exchange Commission (Plaintiff or the Commission) alleges that it brings this action to enjoin Defendants Spartan Securities Group, Ltd. (Spartan Securities), Island Capital Management LLC, d/b/a Island Stock Transfer (Island Stock Transfer), Carl E. Dilley (Dilley), Micah J. Eldred (Eldred), and David D. Lopez (Lopez) (collectively, Defendants) from violating the provisions of the federal securities laws described herein. Spartan Securities, a registered broker-dealer, and Island Stock Transfer, a registered transfer agent, are commonly owned and tout their one-stop shop services provided in tandem to issuers of microcap securities. Dilley, Eldred, and Lopez were common owners of the parent of both Spartan Securities and Island Stock Transfer, and principals of both Spartan Securities and Island Stock Transfer. This action involves Defendants’ roles in one or two separate fraudulent schemes from approximately December 2009 through August 2014 to manufacture at least 19 public companies for sale fundamentally premised on a deceptive public float of purportedly free-trading securities: 14 by Alvin Mirman and Sheldon Rose (the Mirman/Rose Companies) and five by Michael Daniels, Andy Fan, and Diane Harrison (the Daniels Companies). The fraudulent schemes depended on misrepresentations and omissions to, among others, the Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and the Depository Trust Company (DTC) that the Mirman/Rose and Daniels Companies were legitimate small businesses with independent management and shareholders. In reality, both the management and shareholders were nothing more than nominees for control persons who always intended merely to sell all the securities of the companies privately in bulk for their own benefit. The essential value of these securities (each bulk sale realized proceeds of hundreds of thousands of dollars) was their false designation as free-trading with the ability to be sold immediately on the public market. If the truth had been known to the public, the securities would have been restricted from such sales and would have had little value. Dilley and Eldred knew or were reckless in not knowing from the onset that the Mirman/Rose Companies and Daniels Companies, respectively, were pursuing their stated plans under false pretenses and instead being packaged for sale as public vehicles, and that the shareholders were mere nominees for the control persons. Nonetheless, Defendants took critical steps to advance the frauds. Dilley schemed with Mirman and Rose, and Eldred schemed with Daniels, Fan and Harrison, to defraud the public that the Mirman/Rose Companies and Daniels Companies were operating businesses with independent management and shareholders, rather than undisclosed blank check companies (sometimes referred to as shells or vehicles) for sale. Eldred similarly schemed with Daniels, Fan and Harrison by filing false Forms 211 with FINRA, signing false securities deposit forms and executing trades in Spartan Securities’ proprietary account, all in support of the manufacture of undisclosed public vehicles – one of which Eldred expressly proposed to acquire himself while its Form 211 was pending. Spartan Securities and Island Stock Transfer acted in tandem to provide these various services which were critical to the Mirman/Rose and Daniels/Fan/Harrison shell factories. Spartan Securities, Dilley, and Eldred made materially false statements and omissions to FINRA regarding the purpose, management and shareholders of the Mirman/Rose Companies and Daniels Companies.
• Resolution: Judgment Rendered
• Sanction Details :: Sanctions: Civil and Administrative Penalty(ies)/Fine(s) Sanctions: Injunction
• Sanctions: penny stock bar
• Broker Comment: Mr. Eldred denies any wrongdoing and intends to vigorously defend against the action brought by the SEC. Mr. Eldred denies any wrongdoing and intends to to vigorously defend against the action.

According to a study prepared for the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, 80 percent of American investors report that they have been solicited to participate in a fraud scheme, while 11 percent of American investors report that they personally lost money as a result of fraud.

FINRA notes that the rate of investment fraud is most likely much higher than it is reported. This is because many victims of financial advisor scams are too ashamed to come forward. Further, the study also found that a significant number of investors do not know how to spot common red flags of investment fraud. The least you should do is share your experience with other potential victims of investment scams.

Previous Associations

Under federal securities law and securities industry regulations, registered investment firms have a legal duty to supervise their financial advisors. Section 15(b)(4)(E) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 makes a securities firm liable for the conduct of representatives.

• SPARTAN SECURITIES GROUP, LTD. (CRD#: 104478) :: 7/25/2001 – 6/28/2019 :: CLEARWATER, FL
• J.C. BRADFORD & CO. (CRD#: 1287) :: 7/3/1997 – 7/6/2000 :: NEW YORK, NY
• RAYMOND JAMES & ASSOCIATES, INC. (CRD#: 705) :: 3/28/1990 – 3/6/1997 :: ST. PETERSBURG, FL
• RICHFIELD SECURITIES, INC. (CRD#: 16109) :: 7/18/1989 – 3/26/1990

The duty to supervise securities representatives is a strong legal requirement. Registered investment firms must take many different steps to ensure that they are protecting their customers from irresponsible and criminal financial advisors.

Legit or Not?

Unfortunately, stockbroker fraud is more common than many investors would like to think. And yes, stockbrokers (including Micah James Eldred, but not limited to)  can (and do) steal money from their clients. While it’s rare that a broker will literally steal his client’s money (though that does happen), typically the “theft” of investment funds comes in the form of other fraudulent violations of securities law and FINRA rules which leads to significant investment losses.

Investors generally understand that there are risks associated with buying and selling securities. The market can go up, and the market can go down. No matter how skilled of an investor you are, there are always risks. With that being said, sometimes investment losses cannot be blamed on simple back luck.

There are 10 major types of complaints we receive against Investment Brokers –

• Outright Theft (Conversion of Funds)
• Unauthorized Trading
• Misrepresentation or Omission of Material Facts
• Excessive Trading (Churning)
• Lack of Diversification
• Unsuitable Investment Recommendations
• Failure to Disclose a Personal Conflict of Interest
• Front Running of Transactions
• Breakpoint Sale Violations
• Negligent Portfolio Management

Do your due diligence before investing. Public records are available for everybody to review and decide on the safest bet. 

How to Protect Yourself

We, as citizens, place a great deal of trust in the financial advisors who are tasked with helping us achieve and maintain financial security. Most of the time financial advisors and stockbrokers are honest folks who work diligently in their client’s best interests. However, on occasion financial advisors and the brokerage firms who employ them mess up and cause serious financial harm to their clients. Sometimes these losses are caused by simple negligence. Other times fraud or other serious misconduct is to blame.

Here are 5 signs that your broker needs to be reported –

• Breach of Fiduciary Duty: Under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, certain investment professionals, known as registered investment advisors (RIAs), owe fiduciary obligations to their customers. Your investment broker must always look out for your best interests. If you lost money because of your broker’s breach of fiduciary duty, you may be entitled to compensation for the full value of your damages.
• Unsuitable Investments: Many financial advisors are not fiduciaries. Instead, they are held to the suitability standard. These stockbrokers and financial advisors can only sell and recommend financial products that are appropriate for a customer’s unique investment profile. If you lost money in unsuitable investments, you should consider reporting them.
• Material Misrepresentations or Omissions: Brokers have a duty to make fair and honest representations to their clients. If they fail to do so, and an investor loses money due to a misrepresentation or a material omission, the broker may be liable for the investor’s losses.
• Lack of Diversification: Brokers must also act with the appropriate level of professional skill. Pushing a customer into over-concentrated investments is highly risky. Brokers can be held liable for losses sustained because of an investor’s inappropriate lack of diversification.
• Excessive Trading (Churning): Stockbrokers and financial advisors must have a well-grounded, reasonable basis to execute all trades. Unfortunately, there are cases in which brokers will frequently trade on a customer’s account, simply to increase their own fees. This unlawful practice is known as churning.
• Unauthorized Trading: Brokers must have the proper legal authority to make transactions on behalf of a client. If you lost money because your broker made trades that you never approved of, you may have been the victim of unauthorized trading. You should consult with an experienced attorney.

Report Micah Eldred

In order to prevail in an investment fraud lawsuit or FINRA arbitration cases, you must be able to assert a viable ‘cause of action’.

Micah James Eldred – and the firm that employs this broker – is regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). FINRA provides an online form to allow investors to file a formal complaint against their financial advisor, stockbroker, or brokerage firm.

Click here to go to FINRA’s Online Complaint Form →

This form will ask you for specific information related to your complaint. Be prepared by gathering the following:

• Name and symbol for the investment product in question.
• The CRD number (1959598) for the broker – Micah James Eldred
• Your complete contact information.

Remember, it is advised to report your broker to FINRA, only after you have exhausted all of your other remedies and carefully prepared a compelling complaint.  Once you file a complaint against your broker at FINRA, your case will be bound by FINRA’s rules and the arbitration panel’s eventual decision. The time clock will start, and your complaint will be served on your broker or broker-dealer.

The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the source BrokerComplaints.com and do not necessarily reflect the official position of ‘Ripoff Repairs LLC,’ which shall not be held liable for any inaccuracies presented. The information provided within this article is for general informational purposes only. While we try to keep the information up-to-date and correct, there are no representations or warranties, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability of the information in this article for any purpose.

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