FINRA Disciplinary Actions

FINRA Suspends Registered Individuals in June 2018 for Violations of FINRA Rules

July 9, 2018 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for June 2018, the following individuals were suspended from FINRA and cannot currently work for a FINRA brokerage firm for failing to provide FINRA with information it requested or to keep information current with FINRA pursuant to FINRA rules:

NAME	FORMER EMPLOYERS
Mona Ali	JP Morgan Securities
Bobbie Jo Bressler	Farmers Financial Solutions, LLC
Bobbie Jo Bressler	State Farm VP Management Corp
Jeffrey Scott Cederberg	Primex
Jeffrey Scott Cederberg	Capwest Securities, Inc
Gregory James Connell
Vicente Davila	Morgan Stanely
Vicente Davila	Merill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc
Miguel Eduardo Guzman	JP Morgan Securities LLC
Miguel Eduardo Guzman	MA Investment Corp
John Matthew Kurzhal	UBS Financial Services Inc.
John Cochran Maccoll	UBS Financial Services Inc.
John Cochran Maccoll	Morgan Stanley DW Inc
Cynthia Mae Moore	The Huntington Investment Company
Felipe De Jesus U Munive	Allstate Financial Services, LLC
Gordon Beecher Nitka	MML Investors Services, LLC
Gordon Beecher Nitka	MassMutual Life Insurance Company
Daniel Ochoa	Farmers Financial Solutions, LLC
Joshua Alexander Stephens-Anselm	JP Morgan Securities LLC
Joshua Alexander Stephens-Anselm	Capital One Bank NA
John Bradford Stoddard	Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC
John Bradford Stoddard	Zions Bank
Christopher Robert Threet	JP Morgan Securities LLC
Christopher Robert Threet	Capital One Bank
David Wells
Yuhong Zhou	Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc
Yuhong Zhou	World Financial Group, Inc

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases through FINRA arbitration or court. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide in securities arbitration to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.

Registered Individuals Barred by FINRA in June 2018 for Failing to Comply with FINRA Rules

July 9, 2018 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for June 2018, the following individuals were barred from FINRA and cannot currently work for a FINRA brokerage firm for failing to provide FINRA with information it requested or to keep information current with FINRA pursuant to FINRA rules:

NAME	FORMER EMPLOYERS
Donald Nelson Bower III	Edward Jones
Donald Nelson Bower III	Invest Financial Corp
Christopher Masharn Bruce	Statefarm VP Management Corp
Christopher Masharn Bruce	Chris Bruce Insurance Agency
Geoffrey Bret Davidson	Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC
Miriam Fry	Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
Miriam Fry	First Clearing, LLC
Melanie Haning	UBS Financial Services Inc
Melanie Haning	Merrill Lync, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc
Ashley Marie Hostetter
David Wayne Krumrey	Oppenheimer & Co., Inc
David Wayne Krumrey	Stanford Group Company
Gregory Alan Levine	First Allied Securities, Inc
Gregory Alan Levine	MBM Capital Management
Thomas Williams Manley II	RBC Capital Markets, LLC
Thomas Williams Manley II	Lloyds Securities
Gurdey Singh Mann	NYLife Securities LLC
Christopher Quocthai Nguyen	TD Ameritrade, Inc
Christopher Quocthai Nguyen	WellsFargo Bank
Brett Michael Williams	NY Life Securities LLC

FINRA makes this information available, in part, to inform investors about potential red flags or problems with certain stockbrokers. If you invested with anyone in this report and have questions about your legal rights, our attorneys will talk with you at no cost to explain your legal rights and about how we can help recover your investment losses through securities arbitration or litigation.

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases through FINRA arbitration or court. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide in securities arbitration to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.

FINRA Suspends Registered Individuals in June 2018 for Failing to Comply with FINRA Rules

July 9, 2018 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for June 2018, the following individuals were suspended from FINRA for failing to comply with a FINRA arbitration award or settlement agreement pursuant to FINRA rules:

NAME	FORMER EMPLOYERS
Daniel Harry Curkan	Sigma Financial Corporation
Daniel Harry Curkan	Morgan Stanley
Diaz, Anthony	IBN Financial Services, Inc
Diaz, Anthony	Sandlapper Securities, LLC
Brandon Avery Duncan	Royal Alliance Associates, Inc
Brandon Avery Duncan	Raymond James & Associates, Inc.
Timothy Stephen Fannin	UBS Financial Services Inc.
Timothy Stephen Fannin	Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc
Michael P. Gopie	AXA Advisors, LLC
Michael P. Gopie	Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc
Louis Karl Kittlaus	Wall Street Strategies, Inc
Louis Karl Kittlaus	Edwin C. Blitz Investments, Inc
Michael Scott Lavolpe	Meyers Associates, LP
Robert M Marks Jr.	Cape Securities Inc.
Robert M Marks Jr.	Synergy Investment Group, LLC
Michael James McGraw	Morgan Stanley
Michael James McGraw	Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC
Curtis Dean Milakovich	Kovack Securities Inc.
Curtis Dean Milakovich	Lincoln Investment
Matthew Jacob Paparazzo	Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
Matthew Jacob Paparazzo	J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases through FINRA arbitration or court. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide in securities arbitration to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.

Our lawyers have extensive experience collecting FINRA arbitration awards, prevailing on Motions to Vacate FINRA arbitration awards and using various collection efforts to enforce FINRA awards after they are received.

Silver Law Group is Investigating Carlos Evertsz-Seda of K.C. Ward Financial

June 29, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Carlos Evertsz-Seda is barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Respondent failed to request termination of his suspension within three months of the date of the Notice of Suspension; therefore, he is automatically barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Carlos Evertsz-Seda was employed by K.C. Ward Financial in Ronkonkoma, NY from 2010 – May 2017. Mr. Evertsz-Seda is the subject of two securities arbitration claims for damages due to unsuitable investments. K.C. Ward Financial is a Long Island based brokerage firm owned by Louis Ward.

Contact Our Firm if You’ve Invested with Carlos Evertsz-Seda

If you invested with Carlos Evertsz-Seda and believe you have lost money due to his misconduct, you may be able to file a claim to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration. For a free evaluation of your potential case by as securities attorney, please contact Silver Law Group.

Silver Law Group is Investigating Craig Blattner of Cetera Advisors

June 29, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Craig Blattner has been in the securities industry for 31 years most recently with Cetera Advisors LLC in Longwood, FL from September 2016 – February 2018. Previous registrations include Investors Capital Corp in Longwood, FL form May 2006 – October 2016. Mr. Blattner is no longer a registered stockbroker.

Blattner was assessed a deferred fine of $5,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in all capacities for 15 business days following allegations that he settled a client complaint away from his member firm.

FINRA’s findings stated that the value of a joint account of two clients served by Blattner allegedly declined by approximately $75,000. One of these clients complained, orally and in writing by e-mail, to Blattner about his management of their account and the losses they had suffered. Blattner did not disclose the client’s complaint to the firm, and that the complaint was never reported on his Form U4.

Broker Craig Blattner Suspended By FINRA

June 28, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Craig Dean Blattner (CRD #1590301) is a previously registered Florida broker and investment advisor. His last employer of record is Cetera Advisors LLC (CRD #10299) of Longwood, FL; his employment was terminated on 2/28/2018. He is not currently registered with any FINRA affiliated firm, and no other recent employment information is available. His previous employers include Investors Capital Corp. (CRD #30613) of Longwood, FL which merged with Cetera in September of 2016, Gunnallen Financial, Inc. (CRD #17609) of Orlando FL, and First Montauk Securities Corp. (CRD #13755) of Red Bank, NJ.

On or about 03/20/2018, Blattner was suspended by FINRA for 15 days after an inquiry into his business practices. He allegedly personally handled a customer complaint without notifying his employer.

In April of 2013, two longtime clients who had a joint account complained, both orally and in writing, about their account’s loss of $75,000. Blattner was supposed to disclose this complaint to his company at the time, ICC, and report it on his Form U4. Instead, Blattner wrote the clients a personal check for $15,000, instructing them to open a new account to deposit the check. The customers did so, and were told by Blattner that the check was to generate trading profits to replace the losses from their joint account. Failing to notify his employer of these complaints, and handling it away from the firm, is a violation of FINRA rule 2010.

NYSE Brings Action Against Edward Wedbush and Wedbush Securities

June 8, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Wedbush Securities is in hot water with the SEC, FINRA, and the New York Stock Exchange for a scheme involving its owner and founder, Edward Wedbush. Mr. Wedbush was allegedly employing a manipulative trading scheme involving over 70 accounts at Wedbush Securities. The trading practice, often referred to as “cherry-picking,” occurs when “traders choose to allocate the best performing trades to their own or preferred accounts.”

According to the NYSE’s complaint, Mr. Wedbush’s scheme involved instructing an employee to execute trades in a general account, and then he would later allocate the trades to various accounts that he controlled. No other employees at the firm were permitted to make these “post-execution allocations.” Mr. Wedbush also executed these trades on a separate trading platform that was not used by other traders at the firm.

The firm allowed Mr. Wedbush to exercise this discretion and had no procedures in place to ensure that the allocations were not made for improper purposes, like steering the more profitable trades into Mr. Wedbush’s controlled accounts. NYSE alleges this lack of supervision violated both SEC and NYSE rules. The firm failed to establish and maintain adequate written supervisory procedures, and failed to retain adequate books and records. The firm’s Co-Chief Compliance Officer even raised concerns over Mr. Wedbush’s trading activity, yet the firm still “took no meaningful action.”

Securities Regulatory Authorities Were Well Aware of Problems with Wedbush Securities

June 8, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Wedbush Securities is facing discipline from the SEC, NYSE, and FINRA for a manipulative trading scheme involving its founder, Edward Wedbush. According to a recent article by InvestmentNews.com, however, all three agencies were well aware of problems within Wedbush for many years, but handed down no real, meaningful punishment to the firm. This allowed Mr. Wedbush to continue his scheme for years, hurting many investors along the way.

The complaint filed by the NYSE details a history of Wedbush’s run-ins with the three agencies. In 2015, Wedbush was fined by both the SEC and NYSE for “extensive and widespread supervisory deficiencies,” among other things. Before 2015, the firm “was fined over $2,000,000 by regulators in more than a dozen separate actions involving supervisory failures.”

The NYSE and FINRA’s Department of Market Regulation also conducted an investigation of Wedbush concerning violations of supervisory obligations, books and records keeping, trade mismarking, and other issues. FINRA then referred the investigation to its Legal Section of FINRA Market Regulation; NYSE finally took over the investigation in 2016. This extensive regulatory history shows that all three agencies were on notice of Wedbush’s repeated supervisory failures.

Individuals Barred by FINRA in May 2018 for Failing to Comply with FINRA Rules

June 4, 2018 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for May 2018, the following individuals were barred from FINRA and cannot currently work for a FINRA brokerage firm for failing to provide FINRA with information it requested or to keep information current with FINRA pursuant to FINRA rules:

NAME	FORMER EMPLOYERS
Benjamin Glasser Aibel	Wunderlich Securities,Inc
Benjamin Glasser Aibel	Sanders Morris Harris Inc
Carter Page Brooks	Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
Carter Page Brooks	Edward Jones
Walter Lee Clark	Wilmington Capital Securities, LLC
Walter Lee Clark	Adirondack Trading Groups LLC
Christian Colon	Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc.
Christian Colon	UBS Financial Services Inc.
Randolph Lee Eddlemon III	Geneos Wealth Management, Inc.
Randolph Lee Eddlemon III	Schooner Financial Associates
Carlos Nestor Evertsz-Seda	K.C. Ward Financial
Carlos Nestor Evertsz-Seda	J.P. Turner & Company, LLC
Kenneth Taylor Foreman	Securities America, Inc
Kenneth Taylor Foreman	Foothill Securities, Inc
Sherie Irene Gaunt	Gill Capital Partners
Kimberly Pine Kitts	Royal Alliance Associates, Inc
Kimberly Pine Kitts	Sound Financial, LLC
Peter Jack Margaros	State Farm VP Management Corp
James Albert Pettit	Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc
James Albert Pettit	Janney Montgomery Scott LLC
Keisha Diane Pizzo
Eric P. Poage	Edward Jones
Eric P. Poage	Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation
John Greg Schmidt	Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC
John Greg Schmidt	Stifel, Nicholas & Company, Inc
Bradley Curtis Williams	J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
Bradley Curtis Williams	Invest Financial Corporation
Luis Alberto Zuniga

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases through FINRA arbitration or court. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide in securities arbitration to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.

May 2018 Disciplinary Actions from FINRA Name Individuals Suspended for Failing to Comply with FINRA Rules

June 4, 2018 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for May 2018, the following individuals were suspended from FINRA for failing to comply with a FINRA arbitration award or settlement agreement pursuant to FINRA rules:

NAME	FORMER EMPLOYERS
Lawrence Joseph Alfano	Blackbook Capital LLC
	EKN Financial Services INC
Terry Dean Bahgat	Gradient Securities, LLC
	Cambridge Investment Research, Inc
Matthew Wayne Bailey	Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC
	Edward Jones
Christopher John Calandrino	Joseph Stone Capital L.L.C.
	National Securities Corp.
Richard Grant Cody	IFS Securities
	Concorde Investment Services, LLC
Barry Franklin Connell	Morgan Stanley
James Fillmore Crawford Jr.	Concorde Investment Services, LLC
	Independent Financial Group, LLC
Rick Douglas Konency	National Securities Corporation
	J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
Jonathan Richard Lake	Morgan Stanley
	Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC
Maroof Miyana	Legend Securities, Inc
	IAA Financial LLC
Roberto Montano	Waddell & Reed
	U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc
Michael Jay Novick	Morgan Stanley
	Beverly Hills Wealth Management, LLC
David Warren Olson	Morgan Stanley
	Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc
Jason Charles Parker	LPL Financial LLC
	Edward Jones
James Albert Pettit	Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc
	Janney Montgomery Scott LLC
Jose Aloisio Teles	Nomura Securities International, Inc
	Standard Chartered Bank
Jacques Tizabi	Astor Capital, Inc
	Round Hill Securities, Inc
Christopher Thomas Tolmacs	Triad Advisors, Inc.
	Harbinger Asset Management, LLC
Bhaskar Chandrakant Vyas	Interfirst Capital Corporation
	Western International Securities, Inc
Mark Edward Winburne	MML Investors Services, LLC
	Metlife Securities, Inc.

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases through FINRA arbitration or court. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide in securities arbitration to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.