Chris Brothers: Maxim Group Advisor Faces $1 Million Complaint

Fort Lauderdale, Florida financial advisor Chris Brothers (CRD# 2186156) allegedly recommended unsuitable investments, according to recent investor complaints. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he is registered as a broker with Maxim Group.

Mr. Brothers’ BrokerCheck report discloses four investor complaints. The most recent, filed in July 2024, alleges that as a representative of Maxim Group, he misrepresented material facts and breached his fiduciary duties. The pending complaint alleges damages of $1 million.

An earlier investor complaint, filed in June 2024, alleges that as a Maxim Group representative, he recommended an unsuitable private placement, breached his fiduciary duty, and misrepresented material facts related to an investment. The pending complaint, which involves multiple claimants and notes that Mr. Brothers is not the respondent for each, alleges damages of $300,000.

A third investor complaint, filed in January 2024, alleged that he recommended unsuitable products, over-concentrated investments in high-risk investments, misrepresented or omitted material facts, and breached his fiduciary duty. The pending complaint alleges unspecified damages. In a statement included with the complaint’s disclosure, Mr. Brothers “strenuously” denied the allegations against him. “The customer was a client of former brokers of the Firm; after those brokers left, I became the customer’s broker and made only one trade recommendation to the customer,” he explains. That recommendation resulted in a single $25,000 investment in a company of which the customer was an existing shareholder.”

A fourth investor complaint, filed in 2010, alleged that as a representative of Maxim Group and Advanced Equities, he made excessive trades and recommended unsuitable products. The complaint reached a settlement of $40,000.

Maxim Group’s website includes a profile of Mr. Brothers that describes his experience and services. “He possesses a unique skill set in that his experience encompasses both the public and private markets,” it states. “Over the course of his career, Chris has raised in excess of $800mm in private finance for start up, early stage and venture backed late stage companies across a variety of market sectors including healthcare and life sciences, information services, software, consumer products and green tech companies.”

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Chris Brothers holds 32 years of securities industry experience. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he has been registered as a broker with Maxim Group since 2009. His past registrations include Advanced Equities, KSH Investment Group, GKN Securities Corporation, Americorp Securities, and Whale Securities. His credentials include the passage of five securities industry qualifying exams: the General Securities Principal Examination, or Series 24; the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; and the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, or Series 65. He holds 53 state licenses. (Information current as of October 6, 2024.)

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