Stockbroker Misconduct

Client Alleges Broker Robert Yasnis Churned Accounts

August 27, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Broker Robert Ruvein Yasnis (CRD #2399141) is a currently registered broker employed with Worden Capital Management LLC (CRD #148366) of New York, NY. His previous employers include Laidlaw & Company (UK) Ltd. (CRD #119037) of Melville, NY, Buckman, Buckman & Reid, Inc. (CRD #23407) of New York, NY, and Stephen A. Kohn & Associates, Ltd. (CRD #41067) of Lakewood, CO. He has been registered with a total of 18 brokerages (four of which have been expelled by FINRA) and has been in the industry since 1993.

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Yasnis is the subject of a currently pending customer dispute in which he is alleged to have engaged in “churning, unauthorized and unsuitable trading from 2014-2017.” The client is requesting damages of $148,119.00.

Christopher Kane Subject of $871K Customer Dispute

August 27, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Broker Christopher Kane (Christopher Brandon Kane CRD #5486515), was formerly registered with National Securities Corporation (CRD #7569) in South Norwalk, CT. He was previously employed with Laidlaw & Company (Uk) Ltd. (CRD #119037) of Stamford, CT and the now-defunct HFP Capital Markets LLC of New York, NY (CRD #44351; FINRA expelled this company on 06/25/2014.) He has been in the industry since 2007, and registered as a broker since 2010.

Kane has only one disclosure in his FINRA record, which was filed on 6/11/2018. In it, the client alleges “churning, unauthorized and unsuitable trading from 2012-2017.” Requested damages total $871,256.00. Kane was employed with Laidlaw & Company at the time of the allegations. The case is currently pending, and no additional information is available.

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Former Broker Shaun Hayes Accused Of Unauthorized Trading

August 27, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Investment advisor Shaun Eugene Hayes (CRD #4963876) is a former broker who has been employed with McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management in Dallas, TX since 8/17. He was previously registered with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD #7691) of Fort Worth, and AXA Advisors, LLC (CRD #6627) of New York, NY. He was also employed by Bank of America in Fort Worth, but was not registered there. He has been in the industry since 2005.

Hayes is the subject of seven customer complaints, with all but one filed on 12/15/2017. Of these, four have been settled. All of the complaints allege unauthorized trading through different time periods from 2012 through 2017. The four settled cases have total damages of $355,000. No damage amounts are listed in the remaining three cases.

Did You Invest With Shaun Hayes?

Broker Michael B. Barnett Allegedly Invests Client Funds in Speculative Securities

August 21, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Michael Barnett (CRD #5792242) is a currently registered broker and investment advisor working with J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons, LLC of Marion, IL (CRD #453). He has been with Hilliard Lyons since 2012. Previously, Barnett was registered with Edward Jones (CRD #250) of Herrin, IL. He has been in the industry since 2010.

Bahram-Mirhashemi-Facing-Allegations-of-Elder-Financial-Fraud-300x200 Barnett has three pending customer complaints in 2018, with the damages requested totaling $133,529.56. Two of these claims involve allegations of over-concentration and losses related to a company called Breitburn Energy (BBEP), and that the company was unsuitable for the clients. Both complaints include allegations of breach of contract and fiduciary duty, violation of Kentucky Consumer Protection Act, Kentucky Blue Sky Law, and the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act. The third 2018 complaint, also pending, allege “breach of fiduciary duty, violation of Illinois’ Securities Act (Section 815 ILCS 5/12 et al.), negligence/negligent misrepresentation/omission, breach of contract, restitution, common law fraud, and negligent supervision.”

In 2017, Barnett had two additional customer complaints. In one case, the client alleges “unauthorized trading in an unsuitable security.” The second complaint alleges “misrepresentation, unsuitable investments, and unauthorized trading in a single security beginning in 2014 through 2015.” The client has requested damages of $1.5 million.

Broker Robert Cleary Subject to Negligence Allegations

August 21, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Broker Robert Cleary (CRD #1505792) is a currently registered broker with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (CRD #793) of New York, NY, since 2007. He was previously employed with Ryan Beck & Co. (CRD #3248), Gruntal & Co., L.L.C. (CRD#:372) Lehman Brothers Inc. (CRD #7506), all of New York, NY. He has been in the industry since 1986.

Cleary currently has a pending customer dispute in which the client alleges “alleges breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, and breach of contract,” with damages requested of $300,000. Filed o Boca-Raton-Financial-Advisor-Robert-Child-Faces-Yet-Another-Customer-Dispute-300x199 n 5/17/18, no additional information is available.

One previous dispute in 2016 alleged “losses due to inappropriate investment recommendations. 3/31/15 through 5/6/15.” Damages were requested in the amount of $70,000. The client was awarded $40,000, and the case was settled.

Multiple Complaints Against Former Broker Michael Fitz-Gerald

August 20, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Former broker and investment advisor Michael Edward Fitz-Gerald (aka Michael Edward Fitzgerald, CRD #209062) was last registered with Morgan Stanley (CRD #149777) of San Francisco, CA. Previous employers include Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated (CRD #8209) and UBS Financial Services Inc. (CRD #8174), both of San Francisco. He began working in the industry in 1969.

New-York-Broker-Gregory-Flemming-Suspended-by-FINRA-300x200 Fitz-Gerald is the subject of six disputes, dating back to 1987. The latest, filed on 6/6/2018, is pending, and requesting damages totaling $240,000 and allege, “inter alia, unsuitability with respect to investments in accounts -2014 to 2015.”

The previous dispute, filed on 2/14/2017, requested damages of $2,348,175.00, and settled for $185,000. The client alleged that his portfolio was insufficiently diversified from 2012 to 2016. A year before, in 2016, another dispute was filed, with the same allegation of insufficient diversification in the account from 2010 through 2015. The damages were unspecified, and case was settled for $50,000.

Former Broker Ernest Romer Barred By FINRA After Two Investigations

August 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Ernest Julius Romer III (CRD #2311741) is a former registered broker and investment broker, last employed with CoreCap Investments, Inc. (CRD #37068) of Sterling Heights, MI. Previous employers include L.M. Kohn & Company (CRD #27913) and Leonard & Company (CRD #36527), both of Sterling Heights, and Comerica Securities (CRD #17079) of Warren, MI. No current employment information is available. He has been in the industry since 1993, and has a total of 36 disclosures in his FINRA record

Romer is currently the subject of two investigations by the state of Michigan into allegations from two clients that he “stole” money from them. The first was filed on 8/28/2017, the second on 9/1/2017. Both are accompanied by correlating FINRA arbitration cases.

The State of Michigan has also barred Romer from working as a broker in the state of Michigan and permanently revoked his license, and levied fines of $1.5 million against him.

FINRA Gives Broker Jeffrey Fanning Suspension, Fines

August 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Jeffrey Fanning (CRD #1566859) is a former broker and investment advisor whose last employer was Liberty Partners Financial Services, LLC (CRD #130390) of West Palm Beach, FL. Previous employers include Banc One Securities Corporation (CRD #16999) of Chicago and Andrew Garrett Inc. (CRD #29931) of New York City. No current employment information is available. He has been in the industry since 1986.

FINRA has suspended Fanning for six months as a broker, and one year as a principal following the allegations and findings that he failed to supervise and adequately address possible excessive trading. He has also been fined $20,000 in the case.

Failure-to-Adequately-Supervise-Prompts-FINRA-Suspension-of-Roman-Luckey-300x200 Even when Liberty’s internal processes should have triggered a review, Fanning did not adequately address the trading issues. Fanning was, for a time, a 50% owner in Liberty, as well as Liberty’s CEO, CFO and FINOP. Fanning failed to establish and maintain written supervisory procedures (WSP) for the company to ensure that any excessive trading was reviewed, what the red flags were, and when to notify the customer of the potential for excess trading in their account.

FINRA Suspends Walter Parker For Unsuitable Investments

August 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Broker Walter Parker (CRD #2131232) is a former registered broker and investment advisor last employed with Titan Securities, Inc. (CRD #131392) of Rowlett, TX. His previous employers include ING Financial Partners, Inc. (CRD #2882) of Wylie, TX, Locust Street Securities, Inc. (CRD #1703) of Des Moines, IA, and BMA Financial Services, Inc. (CRD #7943) of Kansas City, MO. No current employment information is available. Parker has been in the industry since 1991.

Lawrence-LaBine-Under-Fire-for-Alleged-Unsuitable-Recommendations-and-More-300x200 FINRA recently suspended Parker for one month, and fined him $7,500 related to his activities with a client’s accounts. Parker made a number of recommendations to a client that she immediately begin investing in “alternative investments.” This client had very little prior investing experience, particularly with alternative investments. She was 64 at the time the account was opened. He recommended that she invest $290,000 into four of these illiquid alternative investments from her retirement accounts, all REITs.

These investments concentrated a large percentage of her net worth into these illiquid alternative investments, and were totally unsuitable for the client’s investment objectives. Unfortunately, the client suffered significant losses from all four of these REITs, requiring her to seek and obtain fulltime employment in 2016.

Broker Michael Rosalia Subject Of Multiple Judgments, Tax Liens

August 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Michael Richard Rosalia (CRD #2323953) is a FINRA broker currently registered with Worden Capital Management LLC (CRD #148366) of Melville, NY. He has been with Worden since 12/2/2015. Rosalia’s previous employers include Rockwell Global Capital LLC (CRD #142485), also of Melville, American Capital Partners, LLC (CRD #119249) of Hauppage, NY, and Ladenburg, Thalmann & Co., Inc. (CRD #505) of New York City. He has been in the industry since 1993.

William-Slone’s-45-year-Career-Shows-14-FINRA-Disclosure-Events-300x219 Rosalia’s FINRA record contains 16 disclosures. The most recent was a customer dispute involving a client and the client’s children, with allegations of churning, improper use of margin, unsuitability and high commissions. The children contacted the firm, claiming to represent the customer. But without a power of attorney, or the presence of the client, neither Rosalia nor anyone else the firm could or would speak with them. Eventually, the client and his children had a conference with the firm’s CEO and attorney. The client and children sought damages of $503,828.39; the firm settled for $150,000 to avoid litigation and other related expenses.

Two of Rosalia’s disclosures are bankruptcy dismissals from 2013. Eight of the disclosures from 2009 through 2011 are tax lien judgments totaling $219,663.17. Rosalia’s comment in two of these cases indicated he assumed that they had been already reported on his U4.