Mark Sam Kolta (CRD #5324620, New York, New York)

Mark Sam Kolta (CRD #5324620) was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he made unsuitable recommendations to customers to purchase more than $4.8 million in shares of a non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT). The complaint alleges that Kolta’s recommendations caused his customers to lose more than $4.1 million, while he generated more than $290,000 in commissions. Kolta’s recommendations were unsuitable in view of the customers’ investment profiles and the fact that his recommendations over-concentrated the customers’ investable assets and liquid net worth in illiquid and high-risk securities. The complaint also alleges that Kolta caused his member firm’s books and records to be falsified and inaccurate. Mark Sam Kolta caused the customers’ reported net worth, investable/liquid assets, and annual income on the firm’s customer account records (new account forms), customer account record updates, and REIT investment documents to be falsified and dramatically inflated, as compared to these customers’ actual net worth, investable/liquid assets, and annual income. Kolta also often caused these customers’ reported investment objectives and risk tolerance, as well as these customers’ reported assets held away from the firm, to be inaccurate and falsified. The complaint further alleges that Mark Sam Kolta sent retail communication emails to retail investors that were misleading, unwarranted, and promissory and that were not fair and balanced. Kolta also failed to obtain the required approval of a qualified principal of the firm prior to sending any of these retail communication emails. (FINRA Case #2018057297102) Disclaimer: FINRA issued the previous complaint. Issuance of a disciplinary complaint represents FINRA’s initiation of a formal proceeding in which findings as to the allegations in the complaint have not been made, and does not represent a decision as to any of the allegations contained in the complaint. Because this complaint is unadjudicated, you may wish to contact the respondent before drawing any conclusions regarding these allegations in the complaint.