Bennett, Steven C.

Mr. Benink was admitted to the California bar in 1997. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst in 1992 and a Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degree from the University of San Diego in 1996. In 1997, Mr. Benink began working in the Enforcement Division of the Department of Corporations, California's securities, commodities, franchise, and finance and mortgage lender regulator. He investigated dozens of illegal stock offerings, private placement frauds, illicit brokerage practices, and ponzi schemes, and brought civil and administrative actions against the perpetrators. He also worked closely with criminal agencies in their prosecution of violators of laws under the jurisdiction of the Department.

Mr. Benink joined Krause & Kalfayan in 2002 and represents consumers, businesses and shareholders in securities, consumer fraud, and business litigation actions in state and federal court. He also represents investors in FINRA arbitrations. In 2005, Mr. Benink became a partner in the firm, which was renamed Krause Kalfayan Benink & Slavens, LLP.

Mr. Benink is the author of The Model State Commodities Code, A Regulator's Perspective, published in the Law Enforcement Reporter, Winter 1999. He is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego, and a former President of the Old Mission Rotary Club (2009 – 2010). He is also a 2004 graduate of LEAD San Diego, one of the oldest and most prestigious community leadership organizations in the nation. Mr. Benink has provided expert testimony regarding securities for the San Diego District Attorney’s Office and in private arbitration. In 2007, at the request of the California Department of Corporations, he was appointed by the San Diego Superior Court to act as a receiver over a fraudulent real estate investment business. In September 2010, he co-presented a program entitled Tenants In Common Investments, the Crossroad of Securities and Real Estate, to the Real Estate Section of the San Diego County Bar.