FINRA Disciplinary Actions

FINRA Bars Broker William Downing, Allegations of $1M Excess Trading

September 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

William Downing (CRD #1529382) is a former registered broker and investment advisor who was last registered with Coastal Equities, Inc. (CRD #23769) of Wimberly, TX. He was previously employed with J.W. Cole Financial, Inc. (CRD #124583), also of Wimberly, as well as Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD #7691) and Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC (CRD #19616), both of Austin, TX. No current employment information is available. He began in the industry in 1986.

FINRA barred Downing after he failed to respond to a request for information. He was previously suspended, but did not respond to request termination of his suspension within the three-month time frame. He was indefinitely barred on 08/20/2018. No additional information is available.

Boca-Raton-Oppenheimer-Employees-Settle-SEC-Investigation-300x208 Downing is also the subject of a customer dispute, filed on 07/05/2018. In it, the client alleges that Downing “between 2013 and 2018. . .excessively traded client’s account.” Requested damages are $1M, but no additional details are available. It is not known if this case is related to the FINRA action that let to Downing ultimately being barred indefinitely.

FINRA Issues a Suspension for Network 1 Financial Services Wills Henriquez

September 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Wills Schneider Henriquez (CRD #1872198) is a previously registered broker who was last employed by Network 1 Financial Securities Inc. (CRD #13577) of Brooklyn, NY. His previous employers include Newport Coast Securities, Inc. (CRD #16944), also of Brooklyn, and Legend Securities, Inc., (CRD #44952) of New York, NY. These two firms, along with Success Trade Securities, Inc. (CRD #46027), where Henriquez was previously registered, have been expelled by FINRA. No current employment information is available. He has been in the industry since 1993.

Former Alexander Capital, L.P. Broker Peyton Nelson Jackson is No Longer Registered in the Securities Industry on elderfinancialfraudattorneys.com FINRA suspended Henriquez in all capacities, effective 7/2/2018 through 08/15/2018, and fined him $7,500 for effecting discretionary transactions in multiple customer accounts. These transactions were conducted without written consent from the customers, as well as without written authorization from the firm.

A number of transactions were marked “unsolicited,” when in fact, they were solicited. This caused a compliance issue with Network 1, who now had inaccurate customer transaction records. This activity took place between May 2013 through May 2017. Henriquez also mismarked 32 tickets from March 2016 through March 2017, violating FINRA Rules 4511 and 2010.

FINRA Hands Satya Brata Shaw Six-Month Suspension and $10K Fine

September 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Satya Brata Shaw (CRD #1229175) is a former registered broker and investment advisor last employed by Center Street Securities, Inc. (CRD #26898) of Wesley Chapel, FL, until November of 2016. His previous employers include Madison Avenue Securities, Inc. (CRD #23224) and AXA Advisors, LLC (CRD #6627) of Tampa, FL and MONY Securities Corporation (CRD #4386) of New York, NY. No current employment information is available. He has been in the industry since 1984.

Business Ventures and Suspension

Shaw was recently fined $10,000 and suspended by FINRA for six months, effective 08/07/2018 for numerous violations, including:

National Securities Corporation: Frequent Customer Disputes with FINRA

September 12, 2018 | Silver Law Group

How the company has violated or been accused of violating FINRA regulations

It is always important for investors to have a good understanding of the financial professionals they work with. Before handing over money to anyone, brokers should be vetted properly. This is why the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) created its BrokerCheck reports.

Not only do these provide good information on where brokers are licensed and their work histories, but they also reveal customer disputes, discharges, and alleged improper activity. But these reports don’t just cover brokers – they also include their member firms.

James Edward Knee

September 11, 2018 | Silver Law Group

James Edward Knee (CRD #1852920) is a former registered broker and investment advisor who was last employed with Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. (CRD #2882) of Concord, NH. He was previously employed by Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. (CRD #6363), Investors Capital Corp. (CRD #30613) and Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. (CRD #39543), all of Concord. He has been in the industry since 1988.

Knee is the subject of nine disclosures. One is regarding his discharge from Voya Financial Advisors, one is an unknown pending investigation in the state of New Hampshire, and one is a regulatory action initiated by FINRA. Of the six customer disputes, three were denied and three were settled.

South-Florida-Broker-Brian-Michael-Berger-Permanently-Barred-by-FINRA-300x200-300x200 FINRA barred Knee on 05/18/2018 after he refused to appear for on-the-record testimony. He was the subject of allegations of funds misappropriation during his tenures with both Voya and Ameriprise. After signing an Acceptance, Waiver & Consent (AWC) letter, Knee was indefinitely barred in all capacities.

FINRA Bars Broker Herbert Voss, Jr. After Allegations of Unauthorized Trading

September 5, 2018 | Silver Law Group

South-Florida-Broker-Brian-Michael-Berger-Permanently-Barred-by-FINRA-1024x683-300x200 Herbert Voss, Jr. (CRD #1014475) is a previously registered broker and investment advisor, whose was last registered with StockCross Financial Services, Inc. (CRD #6670) of Beverly Hills, CA. His previous employers include UBS Financial Services Inc. (CRD #8174), also of Beverly Hills, and Waterhouse Securities, Inc. (CRD #7870). No current employment information is available. He has been in the industry since 1982.

FINRA began investigating Voss after allegations that he engaged in unauthorized trading in a customer’s account. After FINRA sent Voss a letter on 4/25/2018 requesting on-the-record testimony in the investigation, his counsel responded that Voss declined the request to testify at any time. Voss was then barred in all capacities by FINRA from associating with any associated brokerage, effective 5/23/2018. StockCross then discharged Voss from his employment.

Voss’ most recent customer complaint was filed on 12/15/2017, alleging “Poor Performance, Fiduciary Breach and Failure to Supervise.” Damages requested total $550,000. Voss’ response was that the facts are being discussed by counsel for both parties. The case is currently listed as “pending.”

FINRA Bars Former Raymond James Broker Stephen Murray After Allegations, Tax Lien

September 5, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Stephen Allen Murray (CRD #343722) is a former registered broker and investment advisor who was last employed by Raymond James & Associates, Inc. (CRD #705) of Palm Beach Gardens, FL. He was previously employed by Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. (CRD #4161) of Jupiter, FL and First Financial Equity Corporation (CRD #16507) of Scottsdale, AZ. No current employment information is available. He began in the industry since 1973.

Murray is the subject of 10 different disclosures, dating back to 1982. The most recent, a regulatory action, occurred after he failed to respond to a FINRA request for information. Three letters were issued regarding the suspension, and Murray did not respond to any of them. He became permanently barred from associating with any FINRA representative as of 8/7/2018. No additional information is available.

The next disclosure was filed on 05/26/2017, a customer dispute alleging “churning, unauthorized trading; negligence, violation of FINRA rules . . .breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty. Activity date is: 6/2010 thru 4/2017.” The customer requested damages of $100,000, and the case was settled for $60,000.

Laidlaw Broker Paul Prestia Barred By FINRA After $160K In Tax Liens

September 5, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Paul Joseph Prestia (CRD #4477149) is a former registered broker whose last employer was Laidlaw & Company (UK) Ltd. (CRD #119037) of Melville, NY. His previous employers include Network 1 Financial Securities Inc. (CRD #13577) of Huntington Station NY and MidAmerica Financial Services, Inc. (CRD #47351.) No current employment information is available. He began in the industry in 2003.

Thomas-Hogle-Barred-by-FINRA-After-Alleged-Lack-of-Cooperation-With-Investigation-300x200 Prestia has been barred by FINRA in all capacities after he failed to respond to a request for information. After receiving a Notice of Suspension and Suspension from Association letters dated April 25, 2018, and May 21, 2018, and failing to respond three months after his suspension FINRA barred him indefinitely.

Prior to the FINRA action, Prestia’s other disclosures are four tax liens:

FINRA Bars Broker Meaghan Johnson After Allegations in Eight Customer Complaints Totaling $1.3M in Damages

September 5, 2018 | Silver Law Group

South-Florida-Broker-Brian-Michael-Berger-Permanently-Barred-by-FINRA-1024x683-300x200 Former broker and investment advisor Meaghan Marie Johnson (CRD #5754123) has been barred by FINRA after customers filed eight complaints in 2017. She was previously employed by Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (CRD #2881) of McLean, VA, and briefly by Signator Investors, Inc. (CRD #468) of Vienna, VA. She resigned from Northwestern on 01/19/2017, and began as a registered representative in the financial industry in 2010.

Johnson was, at the time of her resignation, under an internal review by Northwestern after client complaints filed towards her colleague. Multiple allegations of client signature forgery brought questions of Johnson’s potential for involvement in the same actions. The eight customer complaints were filed after Johnson left the firm. The total amount of these eight complaints is $1,314,616.13.

FINRA sent two requests to Johnson for documents and related information, but she did not comply and failed to provide the requested information. FINRA later sent a request to Johnson to appear in a hearing for on-the-record testimony on April 13, 2018. On April 12, 2018, Johnson refused, informing FINRA staff that she would not appear for testimony on the requested date, nor in the future.

Some of National Securities Corporation’s FINRA-Reported Brokers

September 5, 2018 | Silver Law Group

These four brokers have been accused of numerous infractions

National Securities Corporation has been operating for decades and has offices and brokers all over the U.S. Unfortunately, however, a significant percentage of their brokers have been involved in numerous customer complaints. Here are just a few examples of how National Securities employees have allegedly violated FINRA rules:

James Eichner