Private Placement Complaint Against Joseph Gunnar’s Blake Levy

Fort Lauderdale stockbroker Blake Levy (CRD# 4593636) allegedly recommended unsuitable private placements, according to a pending investor complaint listed on his BrokerCheck report. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he is currently a representative of Joseph Gunnar & Company, though he was previously a representative of Westpark Capital.

The pending investor complaint against Mr. Levy was filed in September 2021. It alleges that as a representative of Newport Coast Securities and Westpark Capital, he recommended unsuitable and over-concentrated private placements. It further alleges that the offering materials associated with these investments “were misleading and/or omitted material facts.” The pending complaint alleges damages of $1,200,000.

In a statement about the above-described complaint, Mr. Levy “vehemently” denied the allegations against him. “The client is a sophisticated high net worth individual with a speculation investment objective, and is willing to take on maximum investment risk,” he wrote. “The client completely understood and agreed to the investments in question. This is a clear attempt to recover certain cherry-picked investment losses, which performance can never be guaranteed.”

An earlier complaint against Mr. Levy, filed in 2005, alleged that as a representative of Hunter Scott Financial, he used margin without authorization. The complaint reached a settlement of $30,100.

FINRA records additionally disclose an investor complaint involving Mr. Levy that was denied. Filed in 2015, it alleged that as a representative of Newport Coast Securities, he engaged in excessive trading and charged excessive commissions. The investor alleged damages of $13,562.70 in the complaint, which was ultimately denied. In a statement on the disclosure, Mr. Levy said: “I deny all allegations, there was no wrongdoing in this account. And client knew about all commissions.” Per FINRA, a “denied” determination is made by the broker and firm receiving the complaint, but “does not always mean a complaint was unfounded.”

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Blake Levy holds 16 years of securities industry experience. He is registered as a broker and investment adviser with Joseph Gunnar & Company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and has been since 2019. His past registrations include Westpark Capital (Fort Lauderdale; 2016-2019), Newport Coast Securities (Fort Lauderdale; 2015-2016), Dawson James Securities (Boca Raton, Florida; 2014), Sterne Agee Financial Services (Fort Lauderdale; 2009-2012), Emmett A. Larkin & Company (Fort Lauderdale; 2006-2009), STG Secure Trading Group (Tampa, Florida; 2005-2006), Salomon Grey Financial Corporation (Dallas, Texas; 2005), Hunter Scott Financial (Delray Beach, Florida; 2003-2005). and JP Turner & Company (Atlanta, Georgia; 2003). His credentials include the passage of three securities industry qualifying examinations: the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; and the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7. He presently holds 45 state licenses. (Information current as of March 9, 2022.)

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