Total includes civil penalty

By Molly Montag, Mason City Globe Gazette

LAKE MILLS — A Lake Mills man accused by state investigators of trading without a license and lying about it was ordered Wednesday to pay approximately $550,000 in restitution and civil penalties.

Randall Finer was cited by the Iowa Insurance Division for dealing unregistered securities, being an unregistered agent, making untrue statements, omitting facts and not complying with orders from investigators.

The allegations are violations of the Iowa Uniform Securities Act. They are not criminal charges.

Investigators said Finer received at least $163,930 from at least six individuals to invest in stocks, commodities or other investments from Jan. 1, 2013, to September 2014, according to an order from the Iowa Insurance Division.

A review of Finer’s bank records showed he also may have invested an additional $290,000 from nine others for a total of approximately $450,000, state investigators claim.

Finer did not respond to two phone messages left Wednesday night.

He disputed the allegations in a Jan. 16 letter to investigators, saying he had loaned money from people in order to trade future contracts for himself. He had not solicited or accepted money from anyone for the purpose of investing on their behalf, he wrote.

“I have always made it clear that I am seeking a personal loan and that I am not a broker or financial planner,” he wrote.

The Iowa Insurance Division ordered Finer to pay $454,430 in restitution, a civil penalty of $100,000 and $8,000 for the cost of the investigation. He also was ordered to return $20,000 worth of silver coins to one of his alleged investors.

Representatives of the Iowa Insurance Division plan to be at the Lake Mills Public Library, 102 S. Lake St., from 1 to 5 p.m. Feb. 11 to meet with anyone who invested funds with Finer.