Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog

OptionSellers.Com Suffers Losses After Natural Gas Declines

November 21, 2018 | Silver Law Group

It seemed like a great investment, in natural gas. But like many energy-based investments, there is a considerable volatility involved that’s an uncontrollable variable. In other words, you never know what may happen tomorrow, especially when trading options or using leverage.

Natural gas posted its biggest one-day percentage gain on November 14. The next day, it posted its largest one-day drop in 15 years. According to news stories, OptionSellers.com was betting that natural gas would continue to rise. When it didn’t, everything unraveled, and the company was forced to begin liquidation. Many investors borrowed through margin accounts, some with considerable amounts invested.

Margin-Account-Guidelines-300x200 Tampa, FL-based OptionSellers.com was a commodities trading firm that claimed to be experienced in this type of investment. The firm’s president and head trader, James Cordier, told a recent interviewer, “Our goal is to take an aggressive vehicle and manage it conservatively.” Unfortunately, that’s not exactly what happened. Trading “naked” on margin instead of “covered,” the firm left its investors vulnerable to unlimited exposure, leading to the losses. An article explains that “OptionSellers.com and its principals negligently engaged in a risky trading strategy that was unsuitable for its clients and breached its fiduciary duties to them by putting its interests ahead of its clients.”

Broker Dominick Diorio Charged With Unauthorized Trading

November 21, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Dominick Joseph Diorio, Jr. (CRD #2447817) is a registered broker currently employed with Aegis Capital Corp. (CRD #15007) of Melville, NY. He was previously employed with Global Arena Capital Corp (CRD #16871) of New York, NY, Prestige Financial Center, Inc. (CRD #30407), also of Melville, and S.W. Bach & Company (CRD #43522), of Port Washington, NY. Five of his previous employers have been expelled by FINRA. He has been in the industry since 1995.

Be on the Lookout: 3 Common Signs of an Investment Scam on elderfinancialfraudattorneys.com Diorio is the subject of four disclosures, the most recent filed on 2/12/2018. In it, the client alleges “unauthorized trading and unsuitable investment recommendations,” and requests damages of $769,690.00. Diorio steadfastly denies the charges. This case is currently pending.

A previous customer dispute filed on 9/29/2017 has similar allegations of an “unsuitable investment strategy” during the period of December 2012 through July of 2017. Diorio also denies the allegations, and explained reasons why the case wasn’t valid including the investment savvy of the customer. On the advice of counsel, Diorio and the firm settled this claim for a total of $837,500.00 instead of risking higher damages and expenses on a hearing and possibly a trial.

Craig Bonn Subject Of Excessive Trading Allegations

November 21, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Craig Aaron Bonn (CRD #2280460) is a currently registered FINRA broker employed with National Securities Corporation (CRD #7569) of New York, NY. He was previously registered with Laidlaw & Company (UK) LTD. (CRD #119037) and Sands Brothers & Co., LTD. (CRD #26816), both also of New York, NY. He has been in the industry since 1993.

FINRA Reports Brokers Nas Adel Allan and Gregory Anastos Made Unsuitable Recommendations on elderfinancialfraudattorneys.com Bonn is currently the subject of a customer dispute filed on 8/29/2018 that alleges unsuitability and excessive trading from 2008 through 2016. The client has requested damages of $228,128.47. Bonn denies the claims of wrongdoing made in this dispute.

Previously, Bonn was accused of making “unsuitable recommendations” for a client from 2006 through 2012 in a dispute filed on 1/17/2014. The client requested $800,000 in damages, and the firm settled for $325,000. Bonn was “dismissed and discharged” from this case, and the company settled without any input or contribution from him.

Silver Law Group is Investigating Former Broker James T. Flynn

November 5, 2018 | Silver Law Group

According to Flynn’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, he was based out of the Greenville, South Carolina branches of IFS Securities and Voya Financial Advisors. After he failed to respond to a FINRA inquiry that followed approximately 17 disclosures and two employment terminations within one year, he was permanently barred in June 2018.

Flynn has a total of 22 disclosures on his FINRA BrokerCheck report, including his banishment from the securities industry.

Upon information and belief, Flynn primarily sold his customers non-traded REITs and other illiquid investments including the Philllip Edison REIT and The Business Development Corporation of America.

Robert Ginsberg, Woodbury Financial, Subject of Two Suitability Claims

November 2, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Robert Scott Ginsberg (CRD #5177531) is a registered broker and investment advisor currently employed with Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. (CRD #421) of Wallingford, CT. He was previously employed by Investors Capital Corp. (CRD #30613), also of Wallingford. He has been in the industry since 2008.

Scottsdale-Capital-Advisors-Awaiting-FINRA-Disciplinary-Action-After-Alleged-Scheme-300x200 Ginsberg is the subject of two disclosures in his record. Both are customer disputes filed in 2017, and are currently pending.

The first was filed on 12/07/2017, alleging “suitability.” No damages are listed, and no other information is available.

FINRA Suspends Francisco Faraco For Forging Signatures

November 2, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Francisco Jose Faraco (CRD #5095972) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last employer was Morgan Stanley (CRD #149777) of New York, NY. His previous employers include J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (CRD #79), also of New York, NY, Santander Securities (CRD #41791) and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD #7691) both of Miami, FL. No other employment information is available, and he is not currently registered with any FINRA member firm. He has been in the industry since 2006.

FINRA-Permanently-Bars-Broker-Richard-McGuire-for-Taking-Funds-and-Forging-Signatures-300x200 Faraco is the subject of three disclosures. Two are for one specific incident.

In January of 2016, Faraco allegedly began assisting an institutional customer obtain a $15M loan from Morgan Stanley Private Bank. In the course of applying, he attempted to keep the process moving after two roadblocks—an expired passport for one individual, and forging two signatures on two assurance documents for collateral. Faraco felt the documents were duplicates. Those signatures were representatives of affiliated companies. The bank approved the loan, and the forgeries were discovered only after one of the affiliates complained.

The SEC’s Temporary Suspension Of Marijuana Company, CannaBusiness Group, LLC Trading

November 2, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Marijuana is still an illegal substance in a number of states (and on the federal level.) But with the increased evidence of medical benefits, many states have begun legalization for medical use. Some, like California and Colorado, have also legalized it for recreational use. Companies are now looking for ways to cash in on this new “green” industry, from growing to manufacturing and processing, as well as associated industries like equipment, real estate and legal services.

FINRA-Permanently-Bars-Gary-Eugene-Donovan-for-Stock-Manipulation-300x200 One company that began dealing with acquiring and leasing land for growing marijuana is CannaBusiness Group out of California. CannaBusiness was founded in 1985, and became a publicly traded company (CBGI) in 2005. CannaBusiness is in the business of the marijuana industry support services, not growing, harvesting and processing. However, the company seems to have fallen off the radar.

According to the company’s Facebook page and other pages that discuss it, CannaBusiness is about “real estate acquisition, leasing, and management firm whose primary focus is on zoning issues.” Calling itself “services for the medical marijuana industry,” the description includes that the company has: “also developed an acquisition plan to acquire companies that sell products and services to include security services, e-commerce store fronts for both grow and dispensary operations, technology solutions, software solutions, and miscellaneous solutions. It is actively involved in the capitalization, development and acquisition of marijuana based consumer products as well as the supporting technologies.”

Cannabis/Marijuana Litigation – FusionPharm

November 2, 2018 | Silver Law Group

It seemed like a good investment—a company that repurposes and refits old shipping containers into hydroponic growing “pods” for local Denver agriculture, as well as the state’s burgeoning cannabis industry. These refurbished containers, complete with installed grow lighting, were known as “PharmPods.” They were marketed as portable hydroponic greenhouses that would solve the problem of finding viable land for agriculture by creating vertical growing spaces in urban areas.

An affiliated company, Vertifresh, was responsible for selling lettuce to local restaurants that was alleged to be grown in PharmPods.

Unfortunately, while the “pods” were real, the company that sold them wasn’t.

SEC Charges Texas-Based Greenview In Cannabis Stock Fraud

November 2, 2018 | Silver Law Group

In the rush to get into the newest investment markets ahead of the curve, some companies will say anything, even if it’s wrong. Our law firm is actively involved in several Cannabis investment lawsuits.

The SEC Has Proposed New Regulations for Fiduciaries on silverlaw.com This week, the SEC filed charges against the Dallas, Texas based Greenview Investment Partners L.P. and its founder Michael E. Cone. The complaint alleges that Cone and his company defrauded investors out of more than $3.3 million with the idea that they would loan money to marijuana-related businesses. The company closed after an FBI probe earlier this year.

“Greenview allegedly exploited investor interest in the marijuana industry and lied about high returns and the backgrounds of its key executives,” said Shamoil T. Shipchandler, Director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office.

SEC’s Temporary Suspension of GrowLife (PHOT) Stocks

November 2, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Home growers of medical marijuana will find no shortage of gardening supplies available made just for their crops. Our marijuana litigators are seeing many bogus suppliers.

One company that supplies equipment and supplies for the home grower is GrowLife, (PHOT) headquartered in Kirkland, Washington. With stores in Encino, CA, Portland, ME and Calgary, Alberta in Canada, GrowLife offers hydroponic equipment, nutrients, soils, lighting, indoor cultivation equipment and plant growing systems.

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On September 19, 2018, the company issued a press release announcing a rights offering, allowing company shareholders to acquire additional shares of GrowLife common stock. Calling it The Offering, the company gives shareholders the opportunity to invest in the company to help it raise additional funding and continue to expand. This stock currently trades at around $0.0122, and is considered a “penny stock” or “microcap stock.” However, because these stocks are smaller, they don’t meet the minimum for trading on a national exchange like the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ. Information may be more difficult to find.