BACKGROUND OF

MASON A. DINEHART III, RFC IN THE SECURITIES

AND INSURANCE FIELDS

Mr. Dinehart, a Registered Securities Principal with the NASD/FINRA  was Vice-President, marketing compliance officer and Acting Branch Manager for Boardwalk Capital Corporation, a Southern California based regional financial services firm, from January 1987 until January, 1990.  He served as a branch supervisor for Eric Equities, Inc. from 1991 to 1999 and was recently  registered with Empire Securities Corporation as a producing representative and home-office supervisor.  With offices in Los Angeles, Empire is the oldest broker-dealer in Los Angeles, founded in 1964.  Further, he was the Director of Advertising Compliance for the firm.  He was also the Registered Principal for the home office and performed complete compliance audits for key branches of the firm.  He voluntarily terminated his registration in January 2010 due to a change in direction of the firm and the requirement to register with an Arizona broker dealer, Arque Capital.  In April, 2010, Mr. Dinehart transferred his securities registration to American Independent Securities Group, LLC where he worked as the firm’s Compliance Consultant in the Sherman Oaks, CA  office.  Then, due to the geographic distance from the firm’s headquarters in Idaho, Mr. Dinehart transferred his license to a local CA broker dealer, Silber Bennett Financial, Inc. in August, 2011 where he served as Registered Principal – Due Diligence and Director of Advertising Compliance until 12/28/2018 when the firm was closed.   On October 20, 2020, Mr. Dinehart joined LightPath Capital, Inc. as Registered Principal – Outside Business Activity Compliance.   On 12-31-2021, he voluntary terminated his employment with this B/D due to the company hiring a full-time compliance officer, rendering his outside business activities monitoring to no longer be required.  He continues to work as a securities expert witness in court and arbitration. 

While at Boardwalk Capital Corporation, as the marketing and training liaison between the field force of 200 representatives and management, Mr. Dinehart was directly responsible for the marketing and licensing compliance of the firm. He participated in the due diligence function as chairman of the corporate finance committee and was the creator of ScoreCards, an industry recognized evaluation technique specifically designed for analyzing common stocks, IPO’s, private stock offerings, bonds, REITS, limited partnerships,  TIC’s, LLC’s, mutual funds and variable annuities. Additionally, he supervised the firm’s insurance and annuity activities and was the author of the firm’s securities sales training program.  He was also President of the firm’s Registered Investment Advisor and Director of Marketing Compliance.    He negotiated for and brought in the company’s new clearing firm, PaineWebber in 1988 and was responsible for the firm’s recruiting activities.

He was directly responsible for nearly $600,000 of new firm underwriting revenues as a result of coordinating the investment banking, structure and placement of eight private placement real estate syndication offerings during 1988-89.

Mr. Dinehart is a graduate of California State College at Los Angeles. For thirteen years,1969-1982, he was Vice-President & Branch Manager for Carlsberg Securities Corporation where his responsibilities included the direction of Investor Services, due diligence and  compliance as well as public and private real estate syndication sales. He directed the sales efforts of over 60 representatives and 5 wholesalers at Carlsberg Securities where common stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance and annuities were sold to investors.  Under his direction, over $40,000,000 of investment capital was raised annually for the purchase of securities, insurance, annuities, pre-developed land and income producing properties.  He was a member of the parent company’s Board of Directors form 1971 – 1978.  Carlsberg Financial Corporation, the parent, was primarily a real estate builder and developer.   Between 1982-1986, he held the title of Vice-president, Branch Manager for Westfield Capital Corporation, a real estate securities investment firm in Orange County, California.

From 1965 to 1969, he was Vice President and Manager of Business Development for Union Bank’s corporate headquarters and for seven years prior to that, he was Assistant Vice President in the National Division of Corporate Finance for Bank of America in Los Angeles.

Mr. Dinehart is a life member of the American Institute of Banking (AIB), and a graduate of the American Institute of Banking School of Finance and Taxation.  In 1963 he won the National AIB Public Speaking Contest and in 1965, the National AIB Debate Championship.  In 1967, he coached the winning National Debate Champions for the AIB.  In addition, he has spoken before numerous professional and business associations including the national convention of the National Management Association, the Southern California Conference of the International Association of Financial Planners, Town Hall, the National Association of Accountants and the State Society of CPA`s.  His article on “Selling Syndication Shares Successfully” appeared in Real Estate Review.  In 2002, his diversification article and chart (See Suitability Defined and Explained) appeared in the Summer issue of the Register, a publication by the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants as well as the Winter ’02 issue of  The Advisor’s Network.  In 2004, he had 2 articles published on expertlaw.com, one on variable annuities and one on junk bonds.  He has also had two securities articles published in the PIABA Bar Journal in the late 2000’s.  

During 1972, Mr. Dinehart traveled with the Practising Law Institute participating as a marketing compliance spokesman in nationwide seminars on real estate syndication, given to members of the bar and bench.

Mr. Dinehart has been a Branch Manager for 3 firms.  Carlsberg Securities – 1969-1982, for Westfield Capital – 1982 – 1986, for Boardwalk Capital, 1987 – 1989 (Acting Branch Manager) and a Branch Supervisor for Eric Equities, Inc. from 1991 – 1999.  Since 2001, with Empire Securities Corporation .and from 2010 – 2011, with AISG.  Finally, from 2011 through 2018, he served as the home office supervisor for SBF, Inc. 

From 1990 through 2001, as principal of his own firm, Financial Education Network Development, he conducted over 500 financial planning/pre-retirement seminars for the executives of Fortune 100 corporations, nationally. He has provided expert witness testimony in 356 arbitrations (700+ retentions) before the NASD, FINRA, AAA, JAMS, PSE and NYSE, and 100+ mediations.  He has testified in 23 states, nationally.   He is listed as an expert witness with Refinitive (Thomson Reuters Expert Witness Services), Forensis Group, TASA, Jurispro and Pro/Counsel.  Mr. Dinehart has been qualified and has testified as a Securities Expert Witness before the Los Angeles Federal Court and State Courts in Los Angeles,  Fresno, Orange County and San Diego.   He was also qualified by the Nevada State Court as an Insurance Industry Expert Witness where he testified on behalf of the defendant.  Mr. Dinehart represents claimant’s 65% of the time and respondent brokerage firms 35%.  In 2001, he provided expert witness services for Tradeway Securities Corporation in two San Diego arbitrations. In 2002, he represented the  General Partner’s in a disclosure action brought by Limited Partners in a real estate operating entity.  He also represented WMA Securities in one arbitration matter and WMA Insurance in one litigation matter as well as in a Nevada mediation and Page and Ma, Business Management, Inc. in San Diego, California, additional respondent cases.  He was retained by respondent Lincoln Financial Advisors, Moseby Financial & Insurance Services, CNA, North American Company for Life & Health, NPC, SII Investments, Inc., AXA/Equitable Advisors, MONY Securities, Inc., and CUNA Brokerage Services..  He has testified on behalf of Financial West Group and Lincoln National Life Insurance Company and Ann Poloko, CFP, IAR.   In 2004, Mr. Dinehart was retained to represent Registered Investment Advisor’s Jerry Klein and Steve Peasley of Klein, Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc.  In 2009, Mr. Dinehart served as an expert witness in a Tenant-in Common (TIC) real estate case against an independent broker/dealer, representing 2 claimants who were awarded $830,000 including interest and their attorney’s fees.  During the last 5 years, he participated as an expert witness in three arbitration matters on behalf of claimant’s against two nationally known major wire-house brokerage firms.  Amounts of $2,500,000, $3,000,000, and $1,300,000 were awarded  to claimant’s by the 3 respective arbitration panels.  In 2010, he  represented two investors in Federal & State Court securities matters in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme against a Cohmad broker, Mortin Kuzrok.  In 2011, Mr. Dinehart represented a large investor in a mediation at which a settlement in the amount of seven figures was achieved.  In 2012, he testified as the due diligence expert in a TIC case where an award of $2.1 million was awarded to claimant.

Since 1999, he has served as an FINRA Arbitrator and has been given assignments on ten cases, one as Panel Chairman.  While six of those cases settled, four went to award.

For four years, Mr. Dinehart participated as both a speaker and panelist in a special seminar program for stockbrokers, “Annual Seminar for Securities Brokers 2000 – 2004”, sponsored by Registered Representative and On Wall Street magazines . The full day seminars covered such employee dispute issues as wrongful termination, broker book portability and U-5 negotiation.  He has been a speaker/panelist at both the PIABA Annual Convention (2003) and PIABA mid-year meetings (2004).  In November, 2003, he was interviewed twice concerning securities matters, on KFWB Radio in Los Angeles.   He also was interviewed on KSPA Radio on the subject “The Pitfalls of Variable Annuities”.  The entire radio broadcast can be heard on the website www. investtalk.com.  He has been deposed in legal matters as a Securities/Insurance Industry Expert Witness on eleven separate occasions.  Ten of those depositions resulted in immediate settlements after providing testimony.  One securities case, a class action, was tried in December where Mr. Dinehart testified in State Court in San Diego. 

Currently, Mr. Dinehart allocates his time 65% as a claimants securities expert witness and 35%on behalf of respondents.  In 2018, Mr. Akili Nickson, Sr. Trial Counsel of the State Bar of California designated Mr. Dinehart as its designated Securities Expert Witness.

Licenses: Series 7, 24, 27* 63, 65,79 & 99 – Real Estate sales* – Life/Variable Annuity.  *Previously held

CURRENT LIST OF STATE AND FEDERAL COURT CASES  

During the last 10 years, I have been deposed and/or testified as a securities expert witness in various State and Federal Court matters.  They include:

1. Chesley L. Martin vs. World Marketing Alliance, Inc., WMA Securities, Inc.et al – Third Judicial District Court for Salt Lake County, Utah
2. Charles M. Felton, Trustee of the Felton Family Trust Dated 3/25/99 et al vs. Vestin Realty Mortgage II, Inc., (f/k/a/) Vestin Fund II, LLC et al Superior Court of California, County of San Diego.
3. Clifford H. Tutelian and Christine Sarkisian v. Tutelian Development Partners L.P. et al – Superior Court of California, County of Fresno.
4. Lorenzo Neal vs. E.G. Ventures Missouri, LLC, The Monarch Group, Inc. et al Superior Court of CA, County of Fresno.
5. Baldwin v. Johnson – Superior Court of CA – San Diego, CA.
6. Kenneth G. Klaas, et al. v. Vestin Mortgage, Inc. and Vestin Realty Mortgage II, Inc. and Michael V. Shustek. District Court, Clark County, Las Vegas, NV.
7. Grossman et al v. Pacific Life Insurance Co., Inc. Superior Court of CA, County of Orange

8.Brenda Phillips v. Ameriprise – Los Angeles Superior court;

9.Retirement Programs for Employees of Town of Fairfield, CT  v. MAXAM Capital

  Management, LLC, et al.  – Hartford, CT Superior Court.

 10.Edward C. Pellegrini v. Grenville M. Gooder, Jr. & Ascension Asset Management, LLC. – United States      District Court, Los Angeles, CA.

11.NNN Siena Office Park 1 LLC  v. Wells Fargo Bank (Wachovia) – U.S. District Court, District of Nevada. 

12.Moshe Pereg v. Pacific Shore Holdings, Inc.  – Los Angeles Superior Court.

13.EFT Biotech v. Buckman, Buckman and Reied, Incl. – L.A. Superior Court.

14.Michael and Carole Smith v. Berthel Fisher & Co. – Stockton Superior Court

15.Richard Gordon v. Morton D. Kurzrok et al-U.S. District Court, Los Angeles, CA

16.  State Bar of CA v. Timothy Peabody – State Bar/CA Superior Court

17.  Anne McNelis v. Ferris Nuesmeyer – El Dorado, CA Superior Court

18.  Christopher Vincent & Shelly Vincent v. Joi Stephens TTEE. of the Stephens Family Trust.  Santa Barbara Superior Court.  Defendant (Testified & Deposed).