← Broker database 2026-04-10
Florida Broker Mark Kolta Barred for Unsuitable REIT Recommendations and Falsifying Customer Records
According to FINRA, Mark Sam Kolta was barred from associating with any FINRA member in any capacity following a National Adjudicatory Council (NAC) decision issued April 10, 2026. The case is currently pending SEC review.
Kolta recommended that four customers invest a combined $1,389,201 in a non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that the product's own prospectus described as "a speculative, high-risk investment suitable only for persons who would not need immediate liquidity and could afford a complete loss of their investment." All four customers had conservative investment objectives and low risk tolerances—investment profiles fundamentally incompatible with this speculative, illiquid product.
To conceal this mismatch between the investment and his customers' actual profiles, Kolta falsified customer account records and REIT investment documents. He fabricated information about customers' net worth, investable assets, annual income, assets held away from the firm, investment objectives, and risk tolerance—either filling out the forms himself or directing his sales assistant to record false information. By misrepresenting customers' profiles, Kolta made unsuitable recommendations appear compliant while preventing the firm from identifying his misconduct for more than a year.
Kolta also sent four retail communications about the REIT that contained unwarranted, promissory, and misleading statements, and failed to obtain required principal approval before distributing them.
The customers suffered significant losses before recovering some funds through arbitration settlements with Kolta's firm. The NAC assessed but did not impose an additional $40,000 fine and two-year suspension for Kolta's advertising rule violations, given that the bar already removes him from the industry.
Investors should carefully review any account documents that reflect their investment objectives, risk tolerance, and financial information, and verify that these records accurately reflect what they told their broker. If account records contain inaccurate information, this may indicate that a broker is manipulating records to make unsuitable recommendations appear appropriate—a serious violation that investors should report to FINRA immediately.