Broker Permanently Barred

FINRA Bans Charles Bloom

January 24, 2019 | Silver Law Group

Charles Lewis Bloom (CRD #4144108) is a former registered broker last employed by Chelsea Financial Services (CRD #47770) of Royal Palm Beach, FL. His previous employers include International Assets Advisory, LLC (CRD #10645) and IAA Financial LLC (CRD #6578) of West Palm Beach, FL, and U.S. Brokerage, Inc. (CRD #39307) of Wellington, FL. No current employment information is available. He has been in the industry since 2000.

FINRA began an investigation into Bloom’s trading practices in October of 2017 after allegations of unsuitable trading in at least three customer accounts. FINRA then requested Bloom to appear to give on-the-record testimony to FINRA regarding the investigation. He declined, and stated in a phone call that he would not give testimony at any time. On 7/17/2018, after signing an Acceptance, Waiver & Consent (AWC) letter, Bloom was indefinitely barred by FINRA effective immediately.

Are-or-Were-Unsuitable-Non-Traded-REITs-in-Your-Portfolio-300x224 Shortly after the FINRA action, a customer dispute was filed on 11/8/2017, alleging that Bloom misrepresented and made unsuitable recommendations with regard to a REIT (real estate investment trust.) The case is currently “pending,” and the damages requested are $99,326.84.

FINRA Bars Andrew Mandell After Section 5 Violation Allegation

January 22, 2019 | Silver Law Group

Andrew Jason Mandell (CRD #194970) is a previously registered broker whose last employer was Network 1 Financial Securities Inc. (CRD #13577) of Oakland, CA. Previous employers include Olympus Securities, LLC (CRD #114050), Halcyon Cabot Partners, LTD. (CRD #32664, one of four previous employers expelled by FINRA, on 10/06/2015) and The Vertical Group (CRD #104353), all of New York, NY. No current employment information is available. He has been in the industry since 1992.

Abern-Barred-by-FINRA-for-Failing-to-Cooperate-200x300 Mandell is the subject of two regulatory disclosures, the most recent filed on 8/20/2018. FINRA sent a letter to Mandell asking him for on-the-record testimony in relation to a potential violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933, which regulates the timeline and distribution process for issuers who offer securities for sale. No specific details are included for this potential violation, but when Mandell declined to testify in the inquiry, he violated FINRA Rules 8210 and 2010. FINRA barred Mandell indefinitely, and in all capacities, effective 8/20/2018, and Mandell signed an Acceptance, Waiver & Consent (AWC) letter agreeing to the sanctions.

There is only one other disciplinary disclosure, filed on 11/29/1994 by the state of Hawaii’s Commissioner of Securities. According to the complaint, Mandell failed to register as a securities salesperson, and allegedly committed securities fraud. He signed the consent agreement and paid the $1,250 civil penalty, dismissing a preliminary order to cease and desist.

Ft. Lauderdale Elder Abuse Charges Against Roger Kroeger

January 22, 2019 | Silver Law Group

Roger Kroeger (CRD #1526864) is a former registered broker and investment advisor who was employed with Invest Financial Corporation (CRD #12984) of Fort Lauderdale, FL for 27 years. He was previously employed with Glenfed Brokerage Services (CRD #13648) of Glendale CA and Shearson Lehman Hutton Inc. (CRD #7506).

Although Kroeger still holds Series 7 and 63 licenses, he is not currently associated with a FINRA member firm. No current employment information is available. He has been in the industry since 1986.

6 Tips that Can Help Prevent Elder Fraud on silverlaw.com Kroeger has four disclosures in his record that appear to be for the same incident, with two filed on 11/17/2017. The first includes criminal charges for exploitation of the elderly for over $100,000, three counts of fraud, money laundering, and two counts of grand theft. The charges are currently listed as “pending.”

FINRA Bars Broker Jackie Wadsworth

January 17, 2019 | Silver Law Group

Jackie Divono Wadsworth (CRD #2342163) is a former registered broker and currently registered investment advisor whose last employer was IMS SECURITIES, INC. (CRD #35567) of Houston, TX. She worked for IMS since 1994, and the firm was expelled by FINRA on 9/04/2018. Previously, she worked for Retirement Investment Group (CRD #7421), also of Houston. She has been in the industry since 1993.

National Securities Corporation: Frequent Customer Disputes with FINRA on silverlaw.com In 2017, Wadsworth was involved in a customer dispute involving multiple claimants while at IMS Securities. In it, the claimants alleged that “a non-party under the supervision of Respondents induced Claimants to invest in unsuitable, high-risk, illiquid investments, including United Mortgage Trust (“UMT”), United Development Funding II (“UDF II”), and United Development Funding III (“UDF III”).” These allegations also included “aiding and abetting fraud, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, civil conspiracy, civil RICO, civil RICO conspiracy, and negligent supervision.” Filed on 6/7/2017, the arbitration was completed on 11/8/2018, awarding a total of $963,836.00 to the claimants.

Following this award, Wadsworth failed to respond to an information request from FINRA, causing a suspension on 8/3/2018. She did not request her suspension to be terminated, and is now barred from any association in any capacity with any FINRA member.

FINRA Bars Wisconsin Broker Daniel Flores

January 17, 2019 | Silver Law Group

Daniel John Flores (CRD #2908027) is a previously registered broker and investment advisor whose last employer was Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. (CRD #421) of Appleton, WI. His previous employers include Princor Financial Services Corporation (CRD #1137) of Neenah, WI, Gunnallen Financial, Inc (CRD #17609) and Sii Investments, Inc. (CRD #2225), both of Appleton. No current employment information is available. He has been in the industry since 1997.

Flores has three disclosures in his record, all from 2018. On 4/16/2018, he was discharged from Woodbury for” engaging in an unapproved financial transaction with a client.” No additional information is available for this case.

On 7/27/2018, FINRA reported that Flores failed to respond for a request for information. Two letters were sent to Flores on 7/27/2018, and 8/20/2018, respectively, with no response. On October 30, 2018, FINRA barred Flores indefinitely and in all capacities from any association with a FINRA member.

FINRA Bars Miami Broker Alex Herrera

January 17, 2019 | Silver Law Group

Alex Gerardo Herrera (CRD #3204779) is a former registered broker and investment representative whose last employer was UBS Financial Services Inc. (CRD #8174) of Coral Gables, FL. His previous employers include HSBC Securities (USA) INC. (CRD #19585), also of Coral Gables, Atlas One Financial Group, LLC (CRD #124057) of Miami, FL, and Citicorp Investment Services (CRD #23988) of Long Island City, NY. No current employment information is available. He has been in the industry since 1999.

Herrera is the subject of three disclosures, with the most recent filed on 8/08/2018, a FINRA disciplinary action and Acceptance, Waiver & Consent (AWC) form in relation to his employment with UBS Financial Services. The investigation was focused on his voluntary termination “while under review after advising management he had engaged in financial and real estate relationships with longstanding clients without prior approval.” FINRA requested information from Herrera in letters dated May 17, 2018 and June 6, 2018 in relation to the allegations.

Stephen-Grivas-Permanently-Barred-by-FINRA-300x210 Through his legal counsel, Herrera indicated to FINRA that he declined to provide the requested information to them. On 7/23/2018, without admitting or denying the findings, Herrera signed the AWC letter, accepting sanctions. In the letter, FINRA indefinitely barred Herrera in all capacities.

FINRA Bars Ft. Lauderdale Broker Shakela Carter

January 16, 2019 | Silver Law Group

Shakela Yashika Carter (CRD #4321231) is a former registered broker and investment advisor who was last employed with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD #7691) of Fort Lauderdale, FL. Before becoming licensed, she was employed with Bank of America and Capital Strategies, also of Fort Lauderdale. She started in the industry in 2000, becoming a licensed broker in 2009. No current employment information is available, and she is not currently affiliated with any FINRA member firm.

Older Americans Face Exploitation and Financial Abuse in Record Numbers on elderfinancialfraudattorneys.com Carter voluntarily resigned from Merrill Lynch on 2/8/2016, after she was under internal review by the firm for “fraud, wrongful taking of property, or violating investment-related statutes, regulations, rules or industry standards of conduct.” An amended Form U5 added that Carter had participated in outside business activities with a client or clients. Subsequent amended forms indicated that Carter assisted a client with an outside credit agreement and an outside investment arrangement with due diligence.

FINRA’s Enforcement division began an investigation on June of 2016 into the allegations against Carter. FINRA requested on-the-record testimony from Carter in regards to the investigation, and sent multiple notifications to her last known address of record. On 11/29/2017, Carter emailed FINRA staff and notified them that she was no longer interested in working in the industry, and would not testify at any time. She then failed to appear on December 20, 2017 or on January 8, 2018 as requested to provide testimony.

Douglas Leone of Salomon Whitney LLC

January 14, 2019 | Silver Law Group

Douglas Leone (CRD #2453784) has been employed with Salomon Whitney Financial since March 2013. Previous employment includes Newport Coast Securities, Inc. from October 2008 to March 2013 and Basic Investors Inc. from August 2005 to October 2008.

Leon-Vaccarelli-Fined-and-Sanctioned-by-FINRA-300x199-1-300x199 Leone was barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities. The sanctions were based on findings that Leone failed to attend an on-the-record interview during an investigation by FINRA. The findings stated that FINRA opened an investigation into Leone’s potential unsuitable recommendations and excessive trading in customer accounts. FINRA twice requested that Leone appear at an on-the-record interview to provide testimony.

The decision became final May 21, 2018.

Ex-broker, Robert Basile, Pleads Guilty to Stealing $130,000 from his Elderly Mother

January 4, 2019 | Silver Law Group

South-Florida-Broker-Brian-Michael-Berger-Permanently-Barred-by-FINRA-300x200-300x200 The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. has barred former Waddell & Reed broker, Robert Lee Basile (CRD #2392772). He faces two years of probation after pleading guilty to embezzlement and theft from an elder.

Basile’s mother opened a brokerage account with Waddell and Reed in 2014, shortly after his son joined the firm. Basile served as the broker for the account, but between January 2015 and October 2017, he allegedly withdrew funds to keep for himself. He used them to pay for his own living expenses without her consent.

Police began an investigation after they received information about elder abuse from adult protective services. The report states that the abuse occurred in Boise, Idaho, where Basile’s mother resides.

FINRA Bars Jon Pariser After Allegations Of Customer Referrals To Unregistered Individual

December 20, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Our attorneys currently represent customers of Jon Pariser against Independent Financial Group for losses related to First Nationle Solution. Jon Richard Pariser (CRD #2755015) is a former registered broker whose last employer was Independent Financial Group, LLC (CRD #7717) of Pacific Grove, CA. His previous employers include SWS Financial Services, INC. (CRD #17587) and LPL Financial LLC (CRD #6413), also of Pacific Grove, CA. No current employment information is available. He has been in the industry since 1996.

South-Florida-Broker-Brian-Michael-Berger-Permanently-Barred-by-FINRA-1024x683-300x200 Pariser is barred in all capacities after he failed to provide requested information to FINRA for an investigation. The documentation relates to allegations that he referred some of his customers to an individual who was not a registered FINRA broker. This unregistered individual and may have recommended to or actually sold these customers “potentially unsuitable” securities. Pariser violated FINRA Rules 8210 and 2010 by refusing to provide this requested documentation, which led to him being barred. He signed an Acceptance, Waiver & Consent (AWC) letter consenting to the sanctions, and he is barred effective 10/04/2018.

His next disclosure is an employment separation from SWS Financial Services on 6/20/2014, which is connected by a closed customer dispute filed four days earlier, involving “unauthorized discretion.” The allegations state that “during the course of normal e-mail correspondence review, firm supervisors discovered an e-mail message from the customer containing language indicating that the representative may have engaged in unauthorized discretionary trading.”