Ashley Woodard: $999K Complaint Against Ex-Voya Advisor

Former Greenville, South Carolina financial advisor Ashley Woodard (CRD# 4703144) has received multiple investor complaints alleging that his conduct resulted in six-figure damages. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he was previously registered as a broker with NYLife Securities and Voya Financial Advisors.

Mr. Woodard’s BrokerCheck report discloses more than a dozen investor complaints. The most recent, filed in March 2024, alleges that as a representative of Voya Financial Advisors, he “recommended illiquid, complex and unsuitable alternative investments,” and further that he “altered forms and made materially false and misleading statements regarding the investments.” The pending complaint alleges damages of $499,999.

An earlier investor complaint, filed in in February 2024, similarly alleges that he recommended unsuitable investments, altered forms, and misrepresented material information as a representative of Voya Financial Advisors. The pending complaint alleges damages of $999,999.

A third investor complaint, filed in 2021, alleged that he recommended unsuitable and risky real estate investments. In 2022 the complaint reached a settlement of $1,794,691.60.

A fourth investor complaint, also filed in 2021, similarly alleged unsuitable recommendations of illiquid alternative investments while he was at Voya Financial Advisors. In 2022 the complaint reached a settlement of $1,226,533.57.

A fifth investor complaint, filed in 2021, similarly detailed allegations of unsuitable and risky real estate investments. In 2022 the complaint reached a settlement of $1.2 million. A sixth complaint, filed in 2020, alleged unsuitable recommendations of variable annuity, real estate, and unit investment trust products, reaching a settlement in 2021 of $3.5 million.  Another suitability complaint filed that same year reached a settlement in 2022 of $5.05 million.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Ashley Woodard holds 16 years of securities industry experience and is not currently registered as a broker or an investment advisor. Last based in Greenville, South Carolina, he was most recently registered with NYLife Securities from 2017 until 2020, doing business as West End Financial Strategies. His registration history includes IFS Securities, Voya Financial Advisors, Capital Investment Group, Brookstone Securities, and New England Securities. His credentials include the passage of four 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; and the Uniform Combined State Law Examination, or Series 66. He is not licensed with any state or registered with any broker-dealer firm. (Information current as of June 6, 2024.)

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