Marc Korsch: 6-Figure Complaints Against Barred Ex-Centaurus Rep

Marc Korsch (CRD# 5525226), a stockbroker previously located in Sarasota, Florida, alleged recommended unsuitable investments that led to millions of dollars in damages for his customers. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that the former representative of Arkadios Capital and Centaurus Financial was also sanctioned by FINRA and barred from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with a broker-dealer firm.

According to his BrokerCheck report, FINRA sanctioned Mr. Korsch in December 2021 in connection to allegations he “failed to respond to FINRA requests for information.” Pursuant to FINRA Rules, the regulator suspended and subsequently barred him from association with any FINRA member in all capacities.

Mr. Korsch’s BrokerCheck report proceeds to describe five investor complaints that resolved with settlements. A complaint filed in November 2021 alleged that as a Centaurus Financial representative, he concentrated the investor’s estate’s portfolio in unsuitable products; in January 2022 it reached a settlement of $18,500. A complaint filed in October 2020, meanwhile, alleged he breached his fiduciary and invested the customers’ accounts in unsuitable, high-risk products; in October 2021 it reached a settlement of $37,000. In August 2021, a group of investors alleged he recommended unsuitable and illiquid investments, breached his fiduciary duty, and made misrepresentations; the complaint eventually reached a settlement of $29,500. A fourth complaint, also filed in 2021, made the same allegations, settling for $29,750. Finally, a complaint filed in 2021 alleged that he breached his fiduciary duty and recommended unsuitable investments, and that “initials on the investment documents [were] not hers,” later reaching a settlement of $22,500. 

Whereas some investor complaints resolve with settlements, others end up in FINRA arbitration proceedings, where arbitrators consider the underlying allegations and decide whether to issue an award to the claimant/s. Mr. Korsch’s BrokerCheck report describes one such complaint. Filed in 2017, it alleged that as a representative of Trustmont Financial Group, he recommended “transactions that were harmful and detrimental to the customer.” In 2018 a FINRA panel issued an award to the claimant of $1,046,098.31.

In addition to the above-described investor complaints, Mr. Korsch’s BrokerCheck report details eleven complaints that remain pending. A complaint filed in November 2021, for example, claims that he recommended “high-commission, unsuitable, complex and risky investments,” alleging damages of $500,000. A complaint filed in September 2021 makes the same allegations, seeking damages of $700,000. A complaint filed in June 2021 claims that as a representative of Centaurus Financial, he recommended unsuitable investments and breached his fiduciary duty; this complaint alleges damages of $750,000. A fourth complaint, also filed in September 2021, claims he concentrated the investor’s account “in high-commission, complex and risky investments,” alleging damages of $400,000. All of these complaints are pending.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Marc Korsch holds 12 years of securities industry experience and has been barred from acting as a broker. His past registrations include Arkadios Capital, Centaurus Financial, and Trustmont Financial Group in Sarasota, Florida, and Capital Financial Services in Port Charlotte, Florida. His credentials include the passage of six securities industry examinations: the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, or Series 65; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; the Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Representative Examination, or Series 6; and the General Securities Principal Examination, or Series 24. He presently holds no state licenses. (Information current as of March 9, 2022.)

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