News
National Capital Markets

FINRA: Broker Charged Native American Tribe $11M In REIT Commissions And Lied About It

Between June 2011 and January 2015, a broker fraudulently charged a Native American tribe $11M in commissions for REITs and BDCs—and then lied about it, FINRA says.

According to FINRA’s filed complaint, broker Gopi Krishna Vungarala convinced the tribe to put $190M in non-traded REITs and BDCs, "without revealing he and his firm received commissions for the sales"—usually 7%—"or the availability of certain volume discounts."

The complaint says Vungarala overcharged the unnamed tribe $3.4M in commissions while serving as the unnamed tribe's registered rep, as well as its treasury investment manager, Investment News reports.

When told of the charges Vungarala said he hasn't received "any notice of this [and I] vigorously deny any allegations.” [IN]

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's National Newsletters
Related Stories

JVP Development Is Betting $37M Of Its Own Money That Frisco Is Ready For Spec Office

Wall Street Impatient For Big Tech Returns On Data Center Spending

As AI Adoption Ramps Up, Half A Million Property Managers Are In The Crosshairs

Treasuries Hover Around 4.7% As Wall Street Questions If Warsh Is A 'Dove In Hawk's Clothing'

Avison Young Had Assets Frozen By Bank Over Unpaid Taxes

Camden Property Trust Sells West Coast Portfolio, Clears $1.5B Target

Churchill Downs Plans To Sell 9 Casinos, Focus On Horse Racing

Bringing Stability And Savings To CRE Insurance Through Working Layer

More Hotel Owners In Need Of Cash Are Getting It From The Big Brands

Former Arms Dealer Targeting Heartland Apartment Takeover Files For Bankruptcy

SEC Charges REIT, Its Founders With Alleged $152M Fraud Scheme

Equinix Ramps Up Spending Plans Amid Faster-Than-Expected AI Shift