Dennis Hayes: Former Boca Raton Newbridge Advisor Barred by FINRA

A disciplinary action taken by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority against former Boca Raton, Florida and Melville, New York broker and investment advisor Dennis Hayes (CRD# 4403550) barred him over allegations he engaged in undisclosed private securities transactions. A former representative of Newbridge Securities Corporation, Hayes was indefinitely barred from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with a broker-dealer firm.

According to an order accepting an offer of settlement (No. 2016050883001) dated March 2019, recommended investors, including customers of his member firm, Newbridge Securities Corporation, make investments totaling $2,700,000 in “securities issued by privately held companies,” and additionally that he was involved in the facilitation of those investments, which FINRA alleges were private securities transactions about which he did not notify his firm. The securities in question included “promissory notes issued by MSLLC and ILLC, common stock and promissory notes of BTInc, common stock and promissory notes of KIInc (a successor of BTInc), and common stock of FXInc.” According to FINRA, Hayes’ family friend was the principal of these companies; Hayes personally invested in four of them, and performed accounting work for one of them, according to FINRA. FINRA’s findings state that the investors who participated in these transactions experienced losses of a minimum of $2,300,000 following the bankruptcy filing by one of the companies and the cessation of operations by the others. As a result of this and other alleged conduct, Dennis Hayes was permanently barred from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with a broker-dealer firm.

Dennis Hayes’ disclosure records also list several customer complaints against him. A 2017 complaint concerning his conduct at Newbridge Securities, for instance, alleged negligent activity and the concentration of unsuitable investments resulting in losses. The complaint reached a settlement of $760,000.

Another 2017 complaint alleged that Dennis Hayes made unsuitable recommendations and engaged in unauthorized trading while employed at Newbridge Securities Corporation. The complaint reached a settlement of $212,500.

Dennis Hayes is not currently registered as a broker. His employment history includes Salomon Whitney Financial, Newbridge Securities in Boca Raton, Florida, NFP Securities, Capital Investment Group, MML Investors Services, Equity Services, Veravest Investments, and AAL Capital Management. He currently holds no state registrations and has passed four securities industry qualification examinations.