A National Securities Arbitration & Investment Fraud Law Firm

$70 MILLION Recovery for Investment Fraud
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$25 MILLION Recovery Against National Brokerage Firm
$9.1 MILLION FINRA Arbitration Award Against Brokerage Firm
$7.9 MILLION Securities Arbitration Award Against Stockbroker
$1 MILLION Securities Arbitration Award for Elder Financial Fraud
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Bryon Edwin Martinsen (CRD #1621649) is a registered broker and investment advisor currently employed with Centaurus Financial, Inc. (CRD #30833) of Northport, NY.  His previous employers are AXA Advisors, LLC (CRD #6627) and The Equitable Life Assurance Society Of The United States (CRD #4039), both of New York, NY.  He has been in the industry since 1987.

Martinsen has a total of eight disclosures on his record dating back to 1999, when he was discharged from AXA Advisors for engaging in outside business activities. He had previously been advised to end these business activities.

My-Financial-Advisor-is-Giving-Me-the-Runaround-on-My-Investments-What-Are-My-Rights-300x200His most recent disclosure was filed on 6/25/2018. This customer disclosure is currently pending, and includes allegations of “unsuitable investments, misrepresentations, and omission of material risks, in connection with the sale of various investments.” The client has requested damages of $231,244.71. Martinsen denies the allegations.

Michael Turner Morrissett (CRD #1456789) is a registered broker and investment advisor who is currently employed with Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC (CRD #19616) of Roanoke, VA. His previous employers are First Union Brokerage Services, Inc. (CRD #8112) of Charlotte, NC and Dominion Investment Banking, Inc. (CRD #17523)   He has been in the industry since 1986.

Lawrence-LaBine-Under-Fire-for-Alleged-Unsuitable-Recommendations-and-More-1024x683-300x200Morrissett is the subject of four disclosures, the most recent of which was filed on 4/5/2018. The claimants allege that Morrissett “misrepresented” two hedge funds in 2013 and 2015, and that the information provided on the two alternative investments was “misleading.” The clients have requested damages of $2,300,000. This case is currently pending.

The next customer dispute was filed on 1/15/2014, with the client alleging that Morrissett “pursued an unsuitable investment strategy beginning in 2000 that overexposed her account to the volatility of the equities markets during the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.”  The case was settled for $85,000 by the firm to avoid the expense and hassle of litigation.

Michael Patrick Nixon (CRD #216931) is a registered broker and investment advisor currently employed with Paulson Investment Company LLC (CRD #5670) of Tampa, Florida. His previous employers include Newport Coast Securities, Inc. (CRD #16944) and Meyers Associates, L.P. (CRD #34171), both of Leesburg, VA. Six of his previous employers have been expelled by FINRA, including Newport and Meyers. He has been in the industry since 1991.

Chestnut-Exploration-and-Mark-Plummer-Facing-Allegations-of-Securities-Fraud-With-Oil-Gas-Securities-300x225Nixon has a total of four disclosures in his record, the most recent a customer dispute filed on 7/9/2018. The claimants allege that from 2013 to 2018, Nixon violated both the Florida Securities Act and the Virginia Securities Act. They also allege that he committed common law and securities fraud and breached his fiduciary duty, and completely misrepresented multiple unsuitable securities and investments. Additional allegations include failure to supervise on the part of the firm (Paulson Investment.) Claimants are requesting damages in the amount of $3,000,000. The case is currently pending.

His previous customer dispute was filed on 10/9/1998, which included allegations of “misrepresentation and deceit” in relation to a stock liquidation to meet a margin call. The client requested damages of $9,000, and was granted damages of $2,006.95. Nixon denied the allegations.

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for January 2019, 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
  Balas, Tami   SCF Securities, Inc
  Klopp Agency
  Bustamante, Ricardo   JP Morgan Securities LLC
  Bustamante Family Legacy, LLC
  Coffey, Brian   National Financial Services LLC
  Fidelity Broker Services LLC
  Dulya, Rita   Kovak Securities Inc.
  Pro-Integrity Securities
  Evans, Makisha
  Feitelnerg, Brendan   United Planners Financial Services
  LPL Financial LLC
  Jimenez, Mario   Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc
  Bank of America
  Justafort, Frantz   JP Morgan Securities LLC
  Chase Investment Services
  Maddox, Nicholas   TCFG Wealth Management LLC
  US Bancorp Investments
  Gustavo Madrigal-Flores   JP Morgan Securities
  Miozzi, Scott   NYLife Securities LLC
  Newbanks, Scott   KMS Financial Services, Inc
  United Planners Financial Services
  Nichols, Viginia   LPL Financial LLC
  Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc
  Resciniti, Michael   Spartan Capital Securities, LLC
  First Standard Financial Company
  Sherry Jr., Zachary   NYLife Securities LLC
  NY Life Insurance Co
  Simonds, Christopher   Edward Jones
  Local Property LLC
  Tejeda, Divanna   JP Morgan Securities LLC
  Chase Investment Services
  Valenzuela, Francisco   Morgan Stanley
  Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc
 Wadsworth, Jackie   IMS Securities, Inc
  Retirement Investment Group
  Walker, Rick   Morgan Stanley
  Citigroup Global Markets Inc
  Walters, James II   Edward Jones
  Williams, Stephen   LPL Financial LLC
  Edward Jones
  Yassin, Mohamed   National Securities Corp
  Morgan Stanley

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.

 

 

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for January 2019, 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
  Alfaro, Jennifer   JP Morgan Securities LLC
  JP Morgan Chase Bank
  Austin, Aaron   LPL Financial LLC
  M&T Securities, Inc
  Austin, Phillip   JP Morgan Securities LLC
  Chase Investment Services Corp
  Bogdan, David   Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC
  Cash, Robert   JP Morgan Securities LLC
  Conner Youn
  Dass, Anukul   NY Life Securities LLC
  NY Life Insurance
  De La Mora, Rosalba   JP Morgan Securities
  Erhart, Peter   Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc
  IDS Life Insurance Company
  Ferraro, Andrew   State Farm VP Management
  Andrew Ferraro Insurance Agency
  Hafen, Herbert   Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC
  Morgan Stanley
  Hamm, Brandon   Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  Haynes, Keith   LPL Financial LLC
  Community Trust Bank
  Jain, Anubhav   Goldman Sachs & Co LLC
  Deutsche Bank Securities
  Jefferson, Vladimir   Wells Fargo Securities LLC
  Century Park Capital Partners
   Jones, Marques   Bank of America
  Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
  Lastrapes, Lisa   Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
  USAA Financial Advisors
  Mak, Adrienne   JP Morgan Securities LLC
  Chase Investment Services
  Martin, Robert   JP Morgan Securities
  Scottrade, Inc
  McKinney, Roxana   Deutsche Bank Securities Inc
  Park Avenue Securites
  Merlo, Robert   Allstate Financial Services
  Pruco Securities
  Norris, Timothy   BMO Harris Financial Advisors
  Harrisdirect LLC
  Owen, Steven   PFS Investments Inc
  Ameriprise Financial Services
  Peskar,Denise   Pruco Securities, LLC
  The Prudential Insurance Co
  Pico, Marc   LPL Financial LLC
  MML Investors Services
  Renison, Thomas   Horace Mann Investors
  Northwestern Mutual Investment Services
  Shin, Jameson   LPL Financial
  Wells Fargo Advisors
  Smith, Michael   Farmers Financial Solutions
  Cornell, Stanley   Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
  Bank of America
  Stutzer, Wayne   RBC Capital Markets, LLC
  Sutro & Co Incorporated
  Tarica Jr., Perry   Wells Fargo Clearing Services
  A.G. Edwards & Sons
  Uribe, Juan   Wells Fargo Clearing LLC
  JP Morgan Securities

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.

 

Walter Roland Valenzuela (CRD #2280224) is a registered broker and investment advisor currently employed with Hilltop Securities Inc. (CRD #6220) of Del Mar, CA. His only previous employer was M.L. Stern & Co., LLC. (CRD #8327) of San Diego, CA, where he worked until 2008.  He has been in the industry since 1993.

Valenzuela is the subject of seven disclosures, all customer disputes. The most recent dispute was filed on 7/23/20018. Alleging unsuitable recommendations, misrepresentation and excessive trading, the client is requesting damages of $3,000,000. This case is “pending,” and no additional information is available.

Three Individuals Charged by the SEC for Defrauding Elderly Clients on elderfinancialfraudattorneys.comAnother still-pending dispute was filed on 8/24/2017, and will be in securities arbitration. The client lists multiple allegations, including elder abuse, financial exploitation, breach of fiduciary duty, excessive trading and misrepresentation. The damages requested are listed at $9,500,000.00. However the claim has no damage amount listed, and the final sum will be determined in arbitration.

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for January 2019, 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
  Ballard, Timothy   Securities Americva
  National Planning Corp
  Cunningham, Christopher   Fulcrum Securities
  Wells Fargo Advisors
  Montano, Roberto   Waddell & Reed
  US Bancorp Investments
  Plummer, Mark   Chestnut Exploration Partners
  Plummer Holdings
  Sanford, Christopher   Natwest Markets Securities
  Amherst Pierpont
  Vandyke, Victoria   Corinthian Partners
  Matrix USA LLC
  White, Harold   Willow Cove Investment Group
  R.W. Towt & Assoc
  Wilde, Maurice   Newbridge Securities Corp
  IFS Securities
  Wood, Stephen   UBS Financial Services Inc
  Morgan Stanley

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.

Michael Christopher Venturino (CRD #5872439) is a registered broker currently employed with Spartan Capital Securities, LLC (CRD #146251) of Garden City, NY. His previous employers include Trident Partners Ltd. (CRD #41258) of Woodbury, NY and Aegis Capital Corp. (CRD #15007) of Melville, NY.  Two other prior employers, Craig Scott Capital, LLC (CRD #155924) and Brookstone Securities, Inc. (CRD #13366), both of Uniondale, NY, have been expelled by FINRA.  He has been in the industry since 2010.

https://www.silverlaw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/FINRA-Permanently-Bars-Honetta-C.-Kao-After-Allegations-of-Unauthorized-Trading-and-Mishandled-Accounts-300x200.jpgVenturino is the subject of 8 disclosures, most recently on 9/11/2018. This customer dispute alleges that from 12/24/14 to 02/28/18, he engaged in misrepresentation, unsuitable recommendations and churning. The client has requested damages of $290,359.83. This case is pending.

FINRA filed a disclosure on 7/17/2018 against Venturino for failing to comply with an arbitration award/letter. He was suspended for one day, as his counsel was arranging installment payments; it later became obvious that the claimant had no intention of doing so. Venturino filed a motion to vacate, and FINRA lifted his suspension.

Robin Michelle Wahby (CRD #2107629, aka, Robin Michelle Griswold) is a registered broker and investment advisor currently employed with NYLIFE Securities LLC (CRD #5167) of Jacksonville Beach, FL. She has been with NYLIFE since beginning in the industry in 1990.

FINRA-Permanently-Bars-Barry-Hartman-From-Securities-Activity-for-Alleged-“Selling-Away”-Activities-300x209Wahby has one disclosure in her record, filed on 6/12/018. A client who invested in Future Income Payments, LLC (“FIP”) on Wahby’s recommendation, filed this customer dispute. This investment was supposed to provide the client with a guaranteed fixed amount and protect the client’s investments. However, the client alleges, she has received no income and her funds were no longer available. The client requested damages of $39,460.00 and the case was settled for $40,000.

Future Income Payments and other high yield investments which claim not to be correlated to stock market returns have been the subject of many arbitration claims.  Investors generally do not appreciate the reasons why an investment may not appear on a monthly statement and some stockbrokers may be “selling away” from their firm.

The SEC has ordered four entities of Transamerica to refund $97 million to investors after discovering that faulty investment models used for fund management didn’t work as it was purported.

The SEC Has Proposed New Regulations for Fiduciaries on silverlaw.comAegon USA Investment Management, operating through Transamerica Asset Management, Transamerica Capital, Inc. and Transamerica Financial Advisors, discovered the model’s inconsistencies, but didn’t notify anyone when they stopped using it. This kept investors from understanding the risks and kept them from making more informed decisions about their investments.

The quantitative investment models were developed by an inexperienced junior analyst who had no experience in portfolio management. Once the company discovered the errors, the models were quietly taken out of circulation. Investors put billions of dollars into mutual funds and other accounts that used these models, which were sold as “model driven” and “model supported.” However, there was no hard evidence that these models actually worked, and no disclosure of risk was ever offered.

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