Securities Arbitration Lawyers BlogFINRA Bars Daniel Winger For Improper Use Of Customer Funds
Daniel Noah Winger (CRD #1542674) is a former registered broker whose last employer was PFS Investments Inc. (CRD #10111) of Federal Way, WA. No current employment information is available. He began in the industry in 1986.
Winger was discharged by PFS on 8/10/2018 after a customer alleged that he took checks from her and deposited them into his personal bank account.
A subsequent FINRA investigation dated 8/28/2018 found that the elderly customer gave him checks made out to “Dan Winger & Associates,” totaling $100,000. The customer was under the impression that the funds would be used for her benefit, including paying any commissions associated with her brokerage account, and for taxes that became due. However, Winger deposited those checks into his own bank account. Winger then spent the monies for his own personal use.
Two days before his death, United Planners discharged Thomas after he revealed to the firm that he had engaged in “selling away,” privately borrowing money and making investment arrangements with several individuals outside of the firm’s auspices. Many of these individuals later became customers of United Planners. Thomas revealed that he conducted these transactions without notifying the firm, and the firm promptly terminated his employment.
Sinkula is the subject of eleven disclosures, all customer disputes dating back to 1997. Three of these disputes were filed in 2018, and all three include “unsuitable investments” in their accounts. The disputes were filed on 8/1/2018, 4/23/2018 and 4/18/2018. The damages requested for these three claims totals $3,700,000, and all three are currently pending.
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Rothchild is the subject of eight disclosures, the most recent of which was a customer dispute filed on 7/30/2018. In it, the client alleges “breach of contract, negligence, unsuitability, breach of fiduciary duty.” Damages requested are $100,000. This case is listed as “pending.”
In 2017, Wadsworth was involved in a customer dispute 
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.
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.
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.
In 2017, while employed by Joseph Gunnar, allegations shown without admitting or denying the findings, Sica consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he made unsuitable recommendations to an elderly customer living on a fixed income. The findings stated that Sica repeatedly recommended that the customer purchase high-risk, speculative securities that were inconsistent with her investment profile. Sica’s recommendations often resulted in an undue concentration of the customer’s account, which represented substantially all of her liquid assets, in speculative securities. Further, Sica often engaged in short-term in-and-out trading of the speculative investments in the customer’s accounts causing substantial losses. Sica’s recommendations resulted in losses of more than $150,000. The findings also stated Sica engaged in unauthorized trading by placing trades in the IZRA accounts of a customer who Sica knew was deceased causing aggregated losses on the trades totaling approximately $3,039.