If you were an investor with Steve Knuttila please call 1-866-817-0201 to discuss your options for investment loss recovery. Jeffrey Pederson represents investors nationwide in issues of investment mismanagement and investment fraud.
Mr. Knuttila has recently lost his securities license and has come under the scrutiny of Minnesota securities regulators after a long history of defrauding investors and mismanaging the life savings of people. FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, discloses the number of “disclosure events” a broker receives. Such events include regulatory investigations, investor lawsuits and written investor complaints concerning a broker. Four such disclosure events require a brokerage to give a broker heightened supervision or terminate a broker. In the case of Mr. Knutilla, he has over 20 such disclosure events.
Knuttila has previously worked with a Questar and Capital Financial Services. Both these firms have potential liability for the actions of Knuttila. The history of disclosure events made the hiring and continued employment of Knuttia questionable.
The beginning of the end for Knuttila was in 2017. In November 2017, FINRA, the regulator overseeing stockbrokers nationwide, began an investigation into allegations that Knuttila made unsuitable recommendations to customers. The sale of unsuitable investors is a form of negligence and can be a form of fraud. On May 10, 2018, FINRA staff sent a request to Knuttila for on-the-record testimony pursuant to FINRA Rule 8210. As stated in his phone call with FINRA staff on May 21, 2018, and by this agreement, Knuttila acknowledges that he received FINRA’s request and will not appear for on-the-record testimony at any time. FINRA barred Knuttila from the securities industry.
On April 2, 2018, the Minnesota Department of Commerce issued a Consent Order permanently barring Knuttila from engaging in the sale or offering of securities and any related securities activity in the State of Minnesota, revoking his insurance producer’s license, and fining Knuttila $40,000, of which $30,000 was stayed, based upon findings that Knuttila made misrepresentations and omissions of fact, breached his fiduciary duties, and made unsuitable recommendations in connection with the sale of securities.
Tags: Knutilla, Knutttila, CFS, Minnesota, Minot, North Dakota, Perham.
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