Rep banned after NFL players lost $43M

Recommended that players invest in a casino project that led to massive losses

A Florida broker was barred from the securities business for recommending to 31 National Football League players that they invest in a casino project that led to losses of $43 million, industry regulators said last Thursday.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. said that broker Jeffrey Rubin of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., recommended the unsuitable investment and failed to get approval from his firms to be involved in the securities deal for the now-bankrupt Alabama casino.

“This case demonstrates how broker misconduct can target high-income, inexperienced and vulnerable investors,” said Brad Bennett, Finra’s enforcement chief.

In settling the case with Finra, Mr. Rubin neither admitted nor denied the findings and agreed to be barred from the securities industry.

His attorney, Patricia Christiansen, declined to comment.

BIG NAMES

The Finra action didn’t name any of the NFL clients who lost money, but news reports identified some of them as Plaxico Burress, Santonio Holmes, Jevon Kearse, Santana Moss, Greg Olsen, Kyle Orton, Terrell Owens, Roscoe Parrish, Clinton Portis, Fred Taylor and Gerard Warren.

Mr. Rubin’s company, Pro Sports Financial Inc., charged a $40,000 annual fee to professional athletes for financial-related “concierge” services, according to the Finra action.

From March 2006 to June 2008, while he was a broker at Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. and Alterna Capital Corp., Mr. Rubin recommended that one of his clients invest $3.5 million, the majority of his liquid net worth, in four risky investments, the action said.

That client signed on with Mr. Rubin in 2002 after he had signed a multimillion-dollar contract with an NFL team. He told the broker that he wanted investments with “moderate” growth and sought to have enough money not to work when he retired, the Finra agreement said.

Mr. Rubin also recommended three other risky investments to that client, the action said.

From January 2008 to March 2011, 30 more clients of his firm — all NFL players — invested $40 million in the casino project, Finra said.