FINRA: Broker Charged Native American Tribe $11M In REIT Commissions And Lied About It
Between June 2011 and January 2015, a broker fraudulently charged a Native American tribe $11M in commissions for REITs and BDCs—and then lied about it, FINRA says.
According to FINRA’s filed complaint, broker Gopi Krishna Vungarala convinced the tribe to put $190M in non-traded REITs and BDCs, "without revealing he and his firm received commissions for the sales"—usually 7%—"or the availability of certain volume discounts."
The complaint says Vungarala overcharged the unnamed tribe $3.4M in commissions while serving as the unnamed tribe's registered rep, as well as its treasury investment manager, Investment News reports.
When told of the charges Vungarala said he hasn't received "any notice of this [and I] vigorously deny any allegations.” [IN]
