A regulatory panel has decided that barred broker and current radio host Dawn Bennett must pay a client over $1 million in compensation and fees for investments in SPDR Gold ETFs.
The Miami-based Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel ruled that Bennett, Western International Securities and Bennett Group Financial Services are required to give Steven Santagati, a dating counselor, about $764,000 in compensation and nearly $280,000 to cover legal and related fees.
Bennett has an extensive regulatory record – including 17 disclosures over her 28-year career with five firms.
The recently settled claims were first filed against Bennett in 2014 and asserted "breach of the general duties of reasonable care, honesty and disclosure; recommending unsuitable investments …; common law fraud; breach of fiduciary duty; failure to supervise; and negligence."
In 2015, Bennett was permitted to resign from broker-dealer Western International, following the discovery of "promissory notes with firm customers by registered representative's company without disclosure to the firm," according to her BrokerCheck records.
Unlikely Duo?
Bennett hosts the weekly radio program "Financial Myth Busting with Dawn Bennett" on Sunday mornings. Several years ago on the show, she portrayed Bennett Group Financial Services' returns as being in the "top 1%" of firms worldwide, without disclosing that the returns were calculated for a model portfolio and not based on actual investor performance.
