Investment industry veteran sues FINRA for right to a fair trial

Charlotte, NC; October 30, 2023: Today, Frank Black and Southeast Investments — the company he founded — filed suit against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to overturn its unconstitutional prosecution that fined the business and banned Frank from the securities industry.

“FINRA’s dogged pursuit of Frank through its biased in-house tribunals is an affront to the Constitution,” said Adi Dynar, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. “Only real federal courts should exercise judicial power. The fact that FINRA is a private organization only makes it worse that it claims the power to regulate and sanction Americans.”

Southeast Investments had several employees and contractors who worked remotely — many from their own homes. FINRA rules required that Frank make periodic physical inspections of “branch offices.” Frank made those trips, but FINRA decided that Frank hadn’t kept sufficient receipts as proof.

FINRA hauled Frank before its in-house tribunal, which, unsurprisingly, rubberstamped the charges, fined his firm $243,000, and banned Frank from working in the securities industry for life. Frank spent years appealing his case through FINRA and the Securities and Exchange Commission, to no avail.

Pacific Legal Foundation is representing Frank — free of charge — in his fight to protect the rights of all Americans to fair trials when accused by regulatory agencies. PLF is committed to ending in-house agency adjudication.

The case is Frank Black and Southeast Investments N.C., Inc. v. FINRA, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.