Online Investor Complaint Form

Before Filing This Complaint Form...

Before filing a complaint, please understand that the Securities Division's jurisdiction is limited by law to protecting the general public interest against:

• fraud in the offer and sales of securities;
• unregistered or dishonest stock broker-dealers or investment advisory firms or their employees;
• unregistered or fraudulent securities themselves.
  

We do not have general consumer protection jurisdiction. We cannot regulate things like variable annuities, banks or mortgage brokers. The Secretary of the Commonwealth's Citizen's Information Service can refer you to the proper agencies which regulates these activities. Telephone 1-800-392-6090 (in Massachusetts only, TTY also) or 617-727-7030 ; email: cis@sec.state.ma.us.

If your dispute involves a registered stockbroker or investment adviser, you should consider "self-help" as your first remedy. Have you called the salesperson to try and remedy the problem? If this was unsuccessful, you should contact the firm's local branch office manager. If you are still dissatisfied, larger firms have a compliance or legal department at their corporate headquarters who can intervene to solve your problem.

We can only bring a formal legal proceeding before an Administrative Law Judge in those few cases where there is a serious risk to the public interest as a whole from fraudulent securities activity. Only an Administrative Law Judge after a trial on the merits can order things such as rescission of a fraudulent investment - the Enforcement Section has no authority to do this on its own.

We legally cannot arbitrate disputes between private parties, act as your private attorney or give legal or investment advice. To protect your interests, you may need to consult an attorney, accountant, investment adviser or stockbroker for advice. Under the securities laws, you may need to take action within certain time limits to preserve your rights. You should not view the Enforcement Section as an alternative to commencing an arbitration proceeding or filing a law suit.

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Investor Complaint Form Instructions

• Please fill out the information as completely as possible. The information you file with the Enforcement Section must be true, complete and absolutely accurate. If you are not sure, you should not guess. You may write "unsure" or a similar response.
• Use your "Tab" key to move to the next field.
• When you have completed the form, click the "Submit Complaint Form" button at bottom of this page. To delete all the information in the form, use the "Clear All Information" button.
• Important notice about Internet security... Electronic transmissions on the Internet are not always secure. You may decide to file only the basic information about your complaint to us using the Internet, and send confidential information by regular mail.

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Investor Complaint Form

Information About Yourself

Name:
E-mail Address:
Mailing Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Work Phone:
Home Phone:

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Complaint Information

Describe your complaint. Provide details such as account number, names, dates, amounts, name of security, etc.

 Approximate time frame of the activities described above (e.g. from 12/23/1994 to 4/97):
From to

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Complaint Status

Have you complained to the firm/salesperson in writing?	yes	no
Have you filed a complaint with other securities regulators?	yes	no

If yes, which regulator(s)? (choose all that apply)

Securities and Exchange Commission

other state regulators

stock exchanges or NASDAQ

law enforcement (name agency):

others (describe):

Have you filed an arbitration claim?	yes	no
Have you started formal legal action or retained an attorney to represent you?	yes	no

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  Denotes required field.

Important notice about Internet security...Electronic transmissions on the Internet are not always secure. You may decide to file only the basic information about your complaint to us using the Internet. If a Securities Division investigator requests that you send confidential information by regular mail, send it to:

William Francis Galvin
Secretary of the Commonwealth
Securities Division, Enforcement Section
One Ashburton Place, Room 1701
Boston, MA 02108

Thank you for your submission. We rely on citizens such as yourself to alert us to fraudulent activity. An investigator from the Enforcement Section will be contacting you after reviewing this complaint.

 (to start over or to not submit your complaint)