LaSalle St Securities, LLC (“LaSalle St Securities”) (CRD# 7191) has been sanctioned repeatedly by FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) and state regulatory organizations for supervisory failures that expose investors to fraud and misconduct. These documented lapses in oversight have resulted in substantial investor losses across the firm’s nationwide network of independent broker-dealer offices.
If you lost money due to misconduct at LaSalle St Securities, you have legal options to recover your losses. The firm’s history of regulatory violations and inadequate supervision creates a strong foundation for investor claims. Most disputes are resolved through FINRA arbitration rather than court litigation because investors typically sign arbitration agreements when opening their accounts.
At the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, we have extensively investigated LaSalle St Securities’ regulatory compliance record and supervisory structure. We represent investors nationwide who have suffered losses due to broker fraud, negligence, unsuitable recommendations, and breach of fiduciary duty at this firm. Time limits apply to filing claims, so prompt action is essential to preserve your legal rights.
The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. offers free consultations to evaluate your potential claim. We can review your account statements, assess the strength of your case, and explain your legal options without any obligation or cost.
Can I Sue LaSalle St Securities, LLC?
If you’ve lost money caused by LaSalle St Securities and/or its employees’ misconduct then the answer is, YES, you can sue LaSalle St Securities but the odds are you signed away your right to sue in court and agreed to resolve your dispute in a FINRA arbitration proceeding. FINRA arbitration is a binding dispute resolution process that functions similarly to a court trial but is specifically designed for securities-related claims.
The easiest way to know if you have a viable case against LaSalle St Securities is to have an experienced securities attorney review your situation. We can determine whether the firm’s documented supervisory failures contributed to your losses and whether you have grounds for recovery.
How to Sue LaSalle St Securities for Investment Losses
What Can I Do If I Lost Money at LaSalle St Securities?
If you lost money at LaSalle St Securities due to broker misconduct or unsuitable investment recommendations, you can file a claim through FINRA arbitration to seek recovery of your losses. FINRA arbitration is the mandatory dispute resolution forum for most securities-related claims because brokerage account agreements typically include arbitration clauses that waive your right to sue in court.
The arbitration process allows you to present evidence of wrongdoing—such as unauthorized trading, misrepresentation of investment risks, unsuitable recommendations based on your financial situation, or failure to supervise—before a panel of neutral arbitrators who will determine liability and damages. LaSalle St Securities has a documented history of supervisory failures that FINRA has sanctioned multiple times, including inadequate due diligence on private placements, failure to supervise representatives’ participation in away-from-firm securities transactions, and insufficient oversight of consolidated client reports.
These systemic compliance breakdowns create opportunities for individual brokers to engage in misconduct without proper oversight, which means the firm can be held liable for losses resulting from its failure to supervise. Even if you signed an arbitration agreement, you maintain the legal right to pursue claims against both your individual broker and LaSalle St Securities as the supervising firm.
To build a successful claim, you need to demonstrate that the broker’s conduct violated industry standards and that LaSalle St Securities failed to properly supervise that broker’s activities. The firm’s regulatory history provides substantial evidence that inadequate supervision is an ongoing problem at LaSalle St Securities, which strengthens claims that tie investor losses to supervisory failures.
Who Can Help Me Sue LaSalle St Securities?
An experienced securities arbitration attorney who understands both FINRA procedures and the specific compliance issues at independent broker-dealers like LaSalle St Securities can help you navigate this process effectively. The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce specializes in cases involving independent broker-dealer misconduct and has successfully represented numerous investors in claims against firms with similar supervisory structures and compliance problems.
We handle all aspects of the arbitration process, from filing the initial Statement of Claim through discovery, hearings, and final award. Our approach combines detailed investigation of your specific losses with broader analysis of the firm’s regulatory compliance record to build the strongest possible case for recovery.
What is LaSalle St Securities, LLC?
LaSalle St Securities (CRD# 7191) has been registered with the SEC and FINRA as a broker dealer since 1975. The company is indirectly controlled by the John W. McDermott through holding company’s and headquartered in Elmhurst, Illinois with small branch offices located throughout the United States. Its independent broker-dealer Business Model has grown through acquisition and organic development of primarily one and two person registered representative offices supervised remotely. Today there are over 300 registered representatives in every state. It is now one of the 50 largest independent broker-dealer and investment advisory firms in the United States.
Why Does LaSalle St Securities, LLC Have So Many Bad Reviews And Customer Complaints?
Independent broker-dealers like LaSalle St Securities operate using a franchise-style business model that prioritizes revenue growth over investor protection, which creates systemic supervision problems that lead to investor losses. The firm’s structure relies on remote oversight of geographically dispersed, independently operated offices—a supervision model that industry regulators have identified as inherently problematic.
Unlike traditional full-service brokerage firms with on-site branch managers and compliance officers, LaSalle St Securities uses a network of Offices of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJs) staffed by independent contractors who themselves operate separate businesses. These OSJ supervisors cannot provide real-time oversight of daily trading activity, new account documentation, or client communications because they are managing their own operations while attempting to monitor multiple remote offices.
This lack of immediate supervision means no one reviews new accounts when opened, securities transactions when executed, or client correspondence when sent. The absence of on-site oversight allows brokers to forge client signatures, falsify suitability information, make unauthorized trades, and misrepresent investment risks without detection. Annual compliance audits—often the only in-person review these offices receive—cannot prevent ongoing misconduct or catch problems before investors suffer substantial losses.
The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has documented that independent broker-dealers experience higher rates of sales abuse and investor losses compared to traditional firms with branch-office supervision structures. This documented pattern of inadequate oversight at independent broker-dealers directly explains why LaSalle St Securities has faced repeated regulatory sanctions for failing to supervise its representatives and why investors at this firm continue to file complaints about misconduct that went undetected until significant losses occurred.
LaSalle St Securities, LLC Has Many Different Regulatory Problems
LaSalle St Securities’ rapid growth has not been without consequences. There have been approximately 15 Federal, state and self-regulatory body disclosure events; that is, final and formal proceedings initiated by a regulatory authority (e.g., a state or federal securities agency like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or self-regulatory body like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA)) for a violation(s) of investment-related rules or regulations. In addition, there have been hundreds of customer complaints filed against LaSalle St Securities for misconduct by its securities sales and investment advisory representatives that are not reported by the firm on its Central Depository Record.
We have reported and written about these regulatory problems and customer complaints over many years. LaSalle St Securities is a repeat offender: there are at least 9 FINRA reported disciplinary proceedings citing the firm with one form of supervisory lapses or another in the last decade.
A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SOME OF THE REGULATORY PROBLEMS LASALLE ST SECURITIES, LLC HAS FACED OVER THE YEARS*
LaSalle St Securities has been repeatedly censured, warned, and fined over $1 million for its own misconduct and failure to supervise its army of financial advisors.* A few of the notable FINRA Sanctions for its Supervisory Failures are below:
FINRA Sanctioned LaSalle St Securities For Supervisory Lapses
In the course of two routine examinations, FINRA staff found certain deficiencies that occurred at various times during a four-year period. With respect to a private placement offering involving Seat Exchange Corporation LaSalle St Securities failed to exercise adequate due diligence before allowing a registered representative to recommend the offering to four accredited investors. With respect to a private offering by Revitalight Operators, LLC, LaSalle St Securities distributed a private-placement memorandum to potential investors that did not include certain material facts and relied on a flawed methodology for projecting return on investment. LaSalle St Securities also was aware of an offering of Platinum Wealth Partners, Inc. (”PWP”), with which one of its registered representatives was associated. LaSalle St Securities failed to supervise adequately the representative’s participation in the offering. LaSalle St Securities also failed to ensure that the offering documents were appropriately filed with FINRA. Independently, a second representative of LaSalle St Securities participated in private securities transactions away from the Firm, which the Firm did not supervise adequately. Finally, LaSalle St Securities allowed its representatives to send consolidated reports to its customers, but failed to adequately supervise those reports. As a result of the above, LaSalle St Securities violated FINRA Rules 2010, and 5122, and NASD Rules 30’10 and 3040. As a result, FINRA imposed a censure and a fine in the amount of $175,000 upon the brokerage firm.
FINRA Sanctioned LaSalle St Securities For Market Timing Abuses
FINRA investigated and uncovered violations of NASD Rules in connection with market timing activity effected by a hedge fund customer of LaSalle St Securities and one registered representative of LaSalle St Securities. Market timing refers to the practice of short term buying and selling of mutual fund shares in order to exploit inefficiencies in the pricing of those shares. Market timing is accomplished either through purchases and redemptions of mutual fund shares from the mutual fund company or from mutual fund sub-accounts of variable annuities. FINRA also found that LaSalle St Securities also lacked adequate systems or procedures for the preservation of all electronic mail communications. All of the foregoing conduct violated NASD Conduct Rules 2110, 3010 and 3110, as well as SEC Rules 17a-3 and 17a-4. As a result, FINRA imposed a censure and ordered disgorgement of commissions in the amount of $46,500 and ordered LaSalle St Securities to pay restitution in the amount over $46,000 to the mutual funds effected by the market timing activity and a fine of $175,000.
SEC Sanctioned LaSalle St Securities For Undisclosed Compensation Practices
The SEC investigated and found that registered investment adviser Tilden, Loucks & Woodnorth, LLC (“Tilden”) obtained undisclosed compensation by charging increased commissions on trades for its clients through its affiliated registered broker-dealer, LaSalle St. Securities. Tilden inaccurately told clients they received a discount to LaSalle’s commission rates when actually Tilden set those commission rates at increased levels.
The SEC found Tilden willfully violated Sections 206(2) and 207 of the Advisers Act; Loucks caused Tilden’s violations of Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act and willfully caused Tilden’s violations of Section 207 of the Advisers Act; and LaSalle St Securities, through Loucks, caused Tilden’s violations of Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act.
SEC ordered LaSalle St Securities to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act, censured the broker-dealer, and ordered it to pay over $200,000 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest.
*Above are only some of the regulatory disciplinary actions filed against LaSalle St Securities by FINRA. There are at least 12 more SEC, FINRA, NASSA, and/or state securities regulator investigations and enforcement actions reported on BrokerCheck as regulatory disciplinary proceeding disclosures.
Did LaSalle St Securities, LLC Advisor Misconduct Cause You Investment Losses?
When financial advisor misconduct has caused you to lose substantial value to your investment accounts, you have the right to seek reimbursement from the responsible parties. LaSalle St Securities is responsible like any employer for its financial advisors acts and omissions. In addition, it has an independent duty to supervise its stockbrokers and investment advisors. These cases can be extremely complex, and so having the support of a reputable attorney who is experienced in recovering investment losses for investors is key to your success. Many customers make the mistake of contacting LaSalle without representation with an attorney about their complaints and have their complaints denied.
Consult With An Attorney Who Recovers Investment Losses Caused By LaSalle St Securities, LLC Today
The securities attorneys at The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., have helped countless investors over the last 45 years recover the losses from their investment accounts that were caused by broker negligence or misconduct. The firm has extensive experience with LaSalle St Securities cases, and Attorney Pearce is committed to seeing that those responsible for the losses you have suffered are held fully accountable.
Over the last 45 years, Attorney Robert Wayne Pearce has recovered more than $175 million on behalf of investors who were victims of fraud or misconduct at independent broker-dealers like LaSalle St Securities. Give us a call at 800-732-2889. Let’s discuss your case and see what we can do to help you get the compensation you need and deserve.
