Irvine Brokerage Loses Three of Its Top Executives : Personnel: Cruttenden & Co. was hit last month by a $4.5-million complaint from an ex-employee.

Orange County brokerage Cruttenden & Co., subject of a $4.5-million complaint filed last month with the National Assn. of Securities Dealers, said Tuesday that three of its top employees have left the company.

Patrick J. Allen, who joined Cruttenden in May as chief operating officer, said that Jeffrey Gottfredson, who was chief financial officer, has resigned, along with William Howard, vice president of trading, and Mike Perez, a vice president and equities trader.

Howard and Perez both said that they left the firm, which has about 80 employees in its Irvine office, to pursue other opportunities.

Perez, who handled Cruttenden’s institutional clients, said he has accepted an offer to join Texas Capital Securities, a Houston brokerage that plans to open an Orange County office. Howard said he is weighing several job offers.

Gottfredson could not be reached for comment.

In the complaint filed June 6 with the NASD, Bradley C. Weddon, former head of retail sales, alleged that he was fired from Cruttenden for refusing to violate securities rules. Weddon’s complaint states that company founder Walter W. Cruttenden III knowingly sold low-quality stocks in order to generate large fees on private stock offerings, many of them for small Southern California companies.

The complaint further alleges that Weddon, hired in August, 1990, was fired earlier this year because he “refused to participate in and tolerate the flagrant violation of NASD and (Securities and Exchange Commission) regulations by Cruttenden’s management.”

Walter Cruttenden has denied all the charges in the complaint, calling them “ridiculous” and characterizing Weddon, who left the firm in February, as a disgruntled former employee.

No arbitration date for hearing the case has been set, said Weddon, who is seeking $4.5 million in lost wages and punitive damages. Lani Woltmann, an NASD director based in Los Angeles, said Tuesday that the federal agency is examining Cruttenden as part of its regular review of practices at local securities firms. The examination began in March, she said.