Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog

Did OptionSellers.Com Trade your IRA on Margin

December 6, 2018 | Silver Law Group

iStock-476534078-300x231 OptionSellers.Com, operated by James Cordier and Michael Gross, promoted themselves as expert options traders able to manage money for retail investors promising they can produce consistent returns with limited risk. From offices in Tampa, Florida, Cordier and Gross touted their book “The Complete Guide to Options Selling” claiming to know “how selling options can lead to stellar returns in bull and bear markets.”

Now, OptionSellers.Com website has gone dark, and INTL FCStone, the commodities firm which maintained the customer accounts and managed the risk for loans and margin, claims that many investors owes them millions of dollars. Investors are wondering how INTL FCStone and OptionSellers.Com lost all the money.

While money was lost on naked options, investors allege that either OptionSellers.Com or INTL FCStone failed:

Commodities Fraud Attorneys Pursue INTL FCStone for OptionSellers.Com Investors

December 6, 2018 | Silver Law Group

iStock-476534078-300x231 Silver Law Group has been retained by investors to pursue claims against INTL FCStone for losses related to OptionSellers.Com. Our clients allege that OptionSellers.Com used a web of deceptive marketing materials, misrepresentation and deception to promote a speculative trading strategy which resulted in devastating losses. INTL FCStone allegedly allowed OptionSellers.Com to trade customer accounts including IRA accounts on margin or purchase naked options which caused losses greater than their principal investment. Further allegations relate to FCStone’s knowledge of OptionSellers’ activities and misrepresentations.

In late November 2018, OptionSellers.Com and INTL FCStone informed investors that despite previous representations regarding the safety and security of their investments, many investors had lost almost all of their investment and many investors owed additional margin calls. James Cordier has offered his victims a video apology, but many investors are shocked to learn about his regulatory history and lack of institutional knowledge regarding options trading.

Our Experienced Commodities Fraud Attorneys

Silver Law Group and the Law Firm of David R. Chase Files a Second FINRA Arbitration Claim Against Independent Financial Group Concerning Selling Away Claims

November 30, 2018 | Silver Law Group

What-Keeps-a-Ponzi-Scheme-Running-300x200 Silver Law Group and The Law Firm of David R. Chase have filed their second FINRA arbitration claim against Independent Financial Group alleging its broker recommended the services of an individual who was running a Ponzi scheme.

According to the securities arbitration complaint, the Claimant’s elderly father became a client of Independent Financial Group and its broker, Jon Pariser (CRD# 2755015), after meeting him at a gathering hosted by a fraternal order both were affiliated with.

In or around June 2017, Pariser informed the Claimant that he was retiring. Pariser then allegedly recommended to Claimant Christopher A. Parris, an individual who had been unlicensed for over a decade, as a trustworthy and skilled professional. According to the Statement of Claim, this fact was not disclosed by either Pariser or Independent Financial Group.

Silver Law Group Files Securities Arbitration Claim Against Voya Financial Advisors and IFS Securities Regarding James Flynn

November 29, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group has filed a FINRA arbitration claim against IFS Securities and Voya Financial Advisors, Inc., two firms that employed Greenville, South Carolina-based broker James T. Flynn (CRD# 3082615).

In the securities arbitration complaint, the Claimant alleges that she entrusted Flynn with a significant amount of money to manage while he was employed with Voya Financial Advisors and IFS Securities. According to the complaint, Flynn then proceeded to recommend significant positions in illiquid investments and non-traded REITs, including a Phillips Edison REIT and a business development corporation (BDA) called Business Development Corporation of America.

Flynn proceeded to recommend, according to the FINRA arbitration complaint, the Claimant invest a significant amount of money in these investments. Claimant alleges Flynn made these recommendations solely due to the significant fees and commissions he would earn selling these products. Due to these unsuitable recommendations and IFS Securities and Voya Financial Advisors’ failure to supervise Flynn, Claimant allegedly lost a significant amount of money.

Kari Bracy

November 29, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Kari Marlin Bracy (aka Kari Marlin Farwell, CRD #5656186) is a registered broker employed by NYLIFE Securities LLC (CRD #5167) of Jacksonville, FL. She has been in the industry since 2009, and only with NYLIFE.

iStock-154012464-300x225 Bracy is the subject of one disclosure, filed on 7/31/2018. In it, the client claims that when she invested in Future Income Payments, LLC in December of 2017, Bracy misrepresented this as a safe, conservative investment with a 7.5% annual return for ten (10) years. The client is requesting damages of $142,697.27. Bracy denies the allegations.

Future Income Payments, LLP (FIP) is the subject of a complaint filed by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP). Filed in the Central District of California, the complaint alleges that the defendants violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, 12 U.S.C. § 5536(a)(1)(B), by expressing to consumers that their “pension-advance products” were not loans and not subject to interest rates. The company also claimed that they were comparable to or cheaper than credit card rates. These “purchases” were, indeed, actually very high-interest loans. The company has since shut down, stopped making payments, and the owner, Scott Kohn, is now unavailable. These loans were sold through intermediaries primarily in the Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, northern Florida and Philadelphia areas.

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.