FINRA Arbitration

Jason McBride

August 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Broker Jason McBride (CRD #1875972) is a registered broker and investment advisor employed by Presidential Brokerage, Inc. (CRD #28784) of Greenwood Village, CO. He has been with Presidential since 1995. His previous employers include VTR Capital, Inc. (CRD #21404) of New York City, Chatfield Dean & Co., Inc. (CRD #14714) also of Greenwood Village, CO, Venture Trading, Inc. (CRD #21404) of New York City, Marshall Davis, Inc. (CRD #16278), Donald & Co. Securities Inc. (CRD #7776) of Tinton Falls, NJ, Pacific Rim Securities, Inc. (CRD #13155) and Power Securities Corporation (CRD #15527). He has been in the industry since 1988.

McBride has been the subject of five customer disputes in his career. The most recent was filed on 5/1/2018, by a client alleging “unsuitability, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, failure to supervise, misrepresentation, omission, and breach of contract in the purchase of 2 non traded REITs and a limited partnership between February 2006 and August 2008.” The client is requesting damages in the amount of $251,317.00. Presidential denies the claims, and McBride isn’t actually a named party in the complaint. The firm is defending itself against the claims.

A prior complaint was filed on 12/15/2015 by a disgruntled former employee and her husband. McBride, again, was not a named party in the complaint. The clients alleged “breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, negligence and unlawful termination and retaliation.” The wife was employed by Presidential as a Series 7 representative, studying for her Series 7 exam, and working as an assistant to McBride.

Broker Ray Reese Subject Of Five Customer Dispute Disclosures

August 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Ray Gene Reese (CRD #1694620) is a FINRA Broker and Investment Advisor with Money Concepts Capital Corp (CRD #12963) of Farmington, MO. His previous employers include Pruco Securities Corporation (CRD #5685) and The Prudential Insurance Company Of America (CRD #680), of Newark, NJ, Hibbard Brown & Co., Inc. (CRD #18246) and Sherwood Capital, Inc. (CRD #10474). He has been in the industry since 1987.

New-York-Broker-Gregory-Flemming-Suspended-by-FINRA-300x200 Reese is the subject of five disclosures, all customer disputes dating back to 1999. The latest, filed on 05/08/2018, involved Reese misrepresented a publicly traded, illiquid product. The customer requested damages of $75,000. Reese countered that he had indeed informed the client of its illiquid nature. After the customer stated that they did not need the money for 11-20 years, the firm found that this was a suitable investment based on the provided information. Additionally, the clients indicated that the accounts were not held in their name; at the time, they were in a brokerage account by Pershing LLC. This dispute was denied.

The next customer dispute is dated 05/07/2018, and is currently listed as “pending.” These clients claim “unsuitability, negligence, breach of contract” as well as breaches of Missouri statutes related to losses of funds deposited in their accounts in 1999 and 2000. The clients also claim that they made a down payment on a whole life insurance policy, with Reese stating that the premiums would never increase, and to ignore letters from the insurance company regarding unpaid premiums. Furthermore, the clients allege that Reese converted money for his own use and ignored their requests to see their file. Reese denies all the allegations, was not the individual who sold the client their insurance policies, and indicated that the clients took loans against their $400,000 investment and personal distributions in excess of $400,000. The clients are requesting damages in the amount of $650,000.

FINRA Bars Broker Scott Palmer

August 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

FINRA has barred former financial advisor and broker Scott Palmer (CRD #817586) after multiple customer disputes. His last employer was Janney Montgomery Scott, LLC (CRD #463) of Hackensack, NJ, from 03/02/2007 to 06/13/2017. He was allowed to resign after “Loss of Confidence related to complaint disclosure history.”

Palmer is not currently registered as a broker or investment advisor, and no record of current employment is available. He is barred from any and all affiliations with any FINRA member firm, in any capacity.

Palmer was previously employed with:

Charles Kenahan

August 10, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Broker Charles Ernest Kenahan (CRD #1351974) is a broker with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD #7691) of Boston, MA, registered since 12/7/2007. Previous employers include Morgan Stanley & Co., Incorporated (CRD #8209) and Morgan Stanley DW Inc. (CRD #7556) of Boston, MA, Smith Barney Inc. (CRD #7059) and Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. (CRD #79), both of New York City, and Thomson McKinnon Securities Inc. (CRD #829). He has been in the industry since 1985.

Boca-Raton-Financial-Advisor-Robert-Child-Faces-Yet-Another-Customer-Dispute-300x199 Kenahan is the subject of three customer disputes in 2018, with the same allegations of excessive trading, unsuitable investments and misrepresentation. The disputes were filed on 05/03/2018, 03/13/2018 and 02/02/2018. The collective timespan of these allegations is December 2007 until 2018. One client is requesting damages, in the amount of $700,000. These are the only disclosures in Kenahan’s 33-year career. He has no disciplinary actions or other disclosures.

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis. This means that you won’t pay legal fees unless we are successful. Call us toll free at 800-975-4345, or use our online contact form to get in touch.

Silver Law Group Wins $1.5 Million Securities Arbitration Award for Unsuitable Private Placement

August 8, 2018 | Silver Law Group

FINRA-300x202 Our firm has won a $1.5 million award against a Texas-based brokerage firm that sold private placements in an oil and gas business venture to our client. The award included a significant million dollars in punitive damages. Silver Law Group continues to represent other investors in failed private placements or Reg D offerings.

Our Client Loses a Significant Amount of Money in an Oil and Gas Private Placement

According to the FINRA statement of claim, a broker of the Texas-based brokerage firm first met with our client and convinced him to fly to Texas for the investment pitch. Our client then met with the CEO of the brokerage firm and pitched the investment to our client. The investment proceeds would allegedly by used to drill oil wells for oil production. The CEO of the brokerage firm promised great returns on the investment within six months. Our client was convinced and invested approximately $521,000 – almost all of his life savings.

Criminal Charges And Additional Complaints Against Former Broker Matthew Eckstein

August 7, 2018 | Silver Law Group

In June, we told you about Matthew Evan Eckstein (CRD #2997245), who was a previously registered broker with Sisk Investment Services, Inc. (CRD #19406) of Syossett, NY. In addition to being registered there since 2015, Eckstein owned Sisk and was its CEO. FINRA also expelled Sisk Investment Services on 6/22/2018. Eckstein was previously employed by Gould, Ambroson & Associates Ltd. (CRD #17412) of Garden City, NY since he began working in the industry in 1998.

There have been some new developments with this broker since our last blog post.

SEC-Charges-Paul-Mata-David-Kayatta-Mario-Pincheira-With-Fraud-and-Freezes-Assets-300x199 On 6/12/2018, the Nassau County (New York) District Attorney filed multiple criminal charges against Eckstein:

Broker Cindy Chiellini Subject Of Three Customer Disputes

August 7, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Cindy Lucille Porto Chiellini (CRD #1015592) is a currently registered broker with Centaurus Financial, Inc. (CRD #30833) of Lexington, SC, since 2015. Previously, she worked with J.P. Turner & Company, L.L.C. (CRD #43177), Gunnallen Financial, Inc. (CRD #17609) and First Allied Securities, Inc. (CRD #32444), all of Lexington. She has been in the industry since 1984.

Securities-Industry-Lingo-May-Interfere-With-Financial-Advising-300x161 Chiellini has three recent customer disputes in her long financial career, but no disciplinary actions. The first dispute was filed on 05/21/2018, from the beneficiaries of a deceased client. The claimants alleged that Chiellini recommended unsuitable investments that resulted in a loss when they decided to liquidate. They have requested damages of $100,000. Chiellini denies the allegations, and states that she not only reviewed the investments with her original client before they were purchased, but also discussed options with the beneficiaries after the client passed away. The beneficiaries decided to liquidate rather than wait, and signed statements that they understood the loss involved by immediate liquidation instead of waiting for these securities to reach full maturity. This claim is currently pending.

The second dispute was filed on 4/17/2018, alleging that his account had “less liquidity” than he told Chiellini he wanted, and lost principal when he sold. The client requested damages of $170,000. Chiellini’s response denied the accusations. After explaining the investment strategies and providing relevant documentation, as well as receiving the customer’s signature on forms certifying that he understood everything, the customer took the advice of a non-licensed securities and insurance individual to liquidate everything over the protests of Chiellini and Centaurus Financial. After the firm examined the evidence, they denied the claim.

Morgan Stanley Advisor Barry Garapedian

July 31, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Barry Garapedian (CRD #1039251) is a currently registered broker employed by Morgan Stanley (CRD #149777) of Westlake Village, CA. He has been with Morgan Stanley since 2009. He was previously employed by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CRD #7059), Lehman Brothers, Inc. (CRD #7506) and E. F. Hutton & Company, Inc. (CRD #235) He has been in the industry since 1982.

Garapedian has been the subject of three FINRA customer disputes in 2018, all with similar allegations of “unsuitability.” The first one, on 3/20/2018 was denied. The second was filed on 03/22/2018 and involves the period 2013 to 2015, and is listed as “pending.” The third claim, filed on 04/01/18, requests damages of $713,000.00. Garapedian’s statement denies the allegations, and maintains that everything was discussed with the customer prior to any transactions, and the investments recommended were suitable for the client. This claim is also listed as “pending.”

One claim was also filed in 2017, alleging the same “unsuitablility,” and was closed with no action.

Silver Law Group is Investigating Thomas Murray of FSC Securities Corporation

July 27, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Broker-Ricardo-Broome-Permanently-Barred-From-FINRA-300x200 Thomas Murray (CRD #721725) has received a securities arbitration claim according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) CRD system.

Thomas Murray has been registered with FSC Securities Corporation in Hartsdale, New York since 2009. Previous registrations include Advantage Capital Corporation in Hartsdale, New York (2007-2009; 1983-2007) and First Investors Corporation (1981-1983).

Murray is the subject of a pending customer complaint as shown in his BrokerCheck report relating to the sale of oil and gas investments.

Silver Law Group is Investigating John Bryant of Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC

July 27, 2018 | Silver Law Group

John Bryant (CRD #3202048) was recently discharged by Wells Fargo over concerns about similar trading strategies in multiple customer accounts and has received a customer dispute according to publicly available records published by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

John Bryant has been registered with American Portfolios Financial Services in Clifton Park, New York since March 2018. Previous registrations include Wells Fargo Clearing Services in Albany, New York (2012-2018); UBS Financial Services in Albany, New York (2006-2012); and Mercer Allied Company in Albany, New York (1999-2006).

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Bryant has received one customer complaint and was discharged by Wells Fargo in connection with suspicious trading patterns as shown on his BrokerCheck report.