Gregory Richards: $500K Complaint Against Liberty Wealth Advisor

Gregory Richards (CRD# 1339012), a financial advisor in Scottsdale, Arizona, recently received an investor complaint alleging his advice led to six-figure damages. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he is a broker and an investment advisor with Benchmark Investments, doing business as Liberty Wealth Management. 

Mr. Richards’ BrokerCheck report discloses several investor complaints. The most recent, filed in July 2022, alleges that as a representative of Centaurus Financial and Benchmark Investments, he “recommended and misrepresented an unsuitable, high-risk and illiquid investment.” The complaint alleges further that he breached his fiduciary duty to place his client’s interests above his own. The pending complaint alleges damages of $500,000.

A second investor complaint, filed in 2018, alleged that Mr. Richards recommended unsuitable real estate and fixed annuity products while he was a representative of Centaurus Financial. The complaint reached a settlement of $23,000. In a comment on the complaint’s disclosure, Mr. Richards “categorically” denied any wrongdoing, adding: “The customer fully understood the characterstics [sic] of the investments purchased. He was certainly suitable for the investments based on the client’s financial situation, investment objective and risk tolerance leve[l].”

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Gregory Richards holds 22 years of securities industry experience. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, he has been a broker and an investment advisor with Benchmark Investments since 2020, doing business as Liberty Wealth Management. His past registrations include Centaurus Financial, Questar Capital Corporation, USAllianz Securities, and First American National Securities. His credentials include the passage of five securities industry qualifying examinations: the Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Representative Examination, or Series 6; 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 Combined State Law Examination, or Series 66. He holds 21 state licenses. (Information current as of August 18, 2022.)

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