Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog

FINRA Suspends Registered Individuals in March 2017 for Failing to Comply with FINRA Rules

April 4, 2017 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for March 2017, 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
Philip Bagalanon
Terry Dean Bahgat	Gradient Securities, LLC
Terry Dean Bahgat	Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.
Patrick Hugh Dowd	Pruco Securities, LLC
Patrick Hugh Dowd	The Prudential Insurance Company of America
Joseph Adam Giardina	Allstate Financial Services, LLC
Ryley Grosso	Infinex Investments, Inc.
Ryley Grosso	PFS Investments Inc.
Larry Anthony Ham	J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
Larry Anthony Ham	Chase Investment Services Corp.
Barry Jin	Spartan Capital Securities, LLC
Barry Jin	Lampert Capital Markets Inc.
Martin Jones	Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Melanie Ann Melton	Allstate Financial Services, LLC
Lystra C. Moore-Besson	HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.
Lystra C. Moore-Besson	HSBC Brokerage (USA) Inc.
Karrie Renee Parrett	Independent Financial Group LLC
Karrie Renee Parrett	Invest Financial Corporation
Douglas A. Rabess	NYLife Securities LLC
Joshua James Shelby	J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
Joshua James Shelby	Chase Investment Services Corp.
Donald Lee Watson, Jr.	The Jeffrey Matthews Financial Group, LLC
Donald Lee Watson, Jr.	Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc.
Mark Nicholas Wesley	Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
Mark Nicholas Wesley	IDS Life Insurance Company
Steven Warren Whelan	MML Investors Services, LLC
Steven Warren Whelan	Pruco Securities, LLC
Terrance Jerome Wilkerson	First Financial Equity Corporation
Terrance Jerome Wilkerson	Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.
Gregory Allen Zale	LPL Financial LLC
Gregory Allen Zale	Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.

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.

In March 2017, FINRA Suspends Registered Individuals for Violations of FINRA Rules

April 4, 2017 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for March 2017, 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
Michael David Charest	Citizens Securities, Inc.
	CCO Investment Services Corp.
William Thomas Eaton	LPL Financial LLC
	Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC
Jason Francis Edwards	J.P Morgan Securities LLC
	SII Investments, Inc.
Wayne Fitzgerald Ford	Salomon Whitney Financial
	Rockwell Global Capital LLC
Robert M. Hirsch	T3 Trading Group, LLC
	UBS Financial Services Inc.
Arthur Kenneth King IV	First Empire Securities, Inc.
	Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc.
Nicholas McCauley Messore	LPL Financial LLC
	Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Andrew Joseph Niehus	ULU Capital, LLC
	Raymond James & Associates, Inc.
William A. Van Ormer III	Voya Financial Advisors, Inc.
	Suntrust Investment Services, Inc.
Darin Richard Pastor	Courtlandt Securities Corporation
	Capstone Affluent Strategies

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.

Christopher J. Calandrino, Worked For 8 Firms in Last 5 Years, Permanently Barred by FINRA

April 3, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former New York-based broker Christopher J. Calandrino (CRD# 5238231) after he resigned from Joseph Stone Capital L.L.C. (CRD# 159744) for allegedly selling outside investments.

According to Calandrino’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, Joseph Stone allowed Calandrino to voluntarily resign in October 2016 while the firm investigated him over selling away allegations as well as for various potential violations of firm policy and regulatory rules and regulations.

Following Calandrino’s resignation, FINRA permanently barred him in November 2016 after he failed to respond to a FINRA request for information.

Former Concorde Investment Brokers Richard and Jill Cody Under Investigation for SEC Allegations and FINRA Bar

April 3, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former New Jersey-based Concorde Investment Services, LLC (CRD# 151604) brokers Jill M. Cody (CRD# 4333419) (also known as Jill Tramontano (“Tramontano”)) and Richard G. Cody (CRD# 2794558) (“Cody”) after the SEC filed charges against Cody and FINRA barred Tramontano.

In December 2016, the SEC filed charges against Cody alleging he defrauded at least three of his clients for years. According to the complaint, Cody’s clients suffered massive losses in their accounts and, rather than notifying his clients, Cody depleted his clients’ retirement savings by making monthly withdrawals

According to the SEC complaint, Cody concealed the clients’ substantial losses from approximately 2004 through 2016 by making materially misleading statements, leading the clients to believe that their investments were maintaining steady value and that their monthly withdrawals were being financed by investment gains.

John S. Elliot, Former Kansas Ameriprise Financial Broker, Under Investigation Over Selling Away Allegations

April 3, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former Overland, Kansas-based Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. (CRD# 6363) broker John S. Elliot (CRD# 5981598) over allegations that he sold customers an outside investment.

According to Elliot’s FINRA BrokerCheck, Ameriprise discharged Elliot in August 2016 for violating Ameriprise compliance policies relating to selling away.

Following Elliot’s Discharge from Ameriprise, two customers filed FINRA arbitration complaints against the broker in November 2016. Both of the complaints allege Elliot sold the customers an unapproved investment in Selden Companies, LLC and damages of almost $1 million in the aggregate.

After FINRA’s Ruling, Joel Weiner has been Permanently Barred from the Securities Industry

March 31, 2017 | Silver Law Group

The Boynton Beach broker is alleged to have profited from unsuitable investment recommendations

Joel Weiner is no longer allowed to act as a broker as of December of 2016. It was then that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) decided to permanently bar him due to serious allegations involving the solicitation of millions of dollars from a client.

FINRA reported that Weiner recommended that his client invest in an outside business that was owned by a representative of his firm, whom Weiner supervised. The business provided loans to small businesses, and the client ended up issuing $2.6 million in loans over several years. Weiner is reported to have earned about $65,000 in finder’s fees as the result of these transactions. In 2014, the business stopped providing loans and asked for repayment of all outstanding loans, but by February of 2015, only half of them had been repaid.

Nicholas Schorsch and Associates Sued; Alleged to Have Looted RCS Capital and Public Investors

March 28, 2017 | Silver Law Group

A group of investors has accused former head of Cetera Financial Group Nicholas “Nick” Schorsch and his partners of shaving off revenues of RCS Capital (“RCAP”), a company once controlled by Schorsch that went into bankruptcy, for their own benefit.

The complaint was filed on March 8, 2017 by RCS Creditor Trust as a damages suit in the RCAP bankruptcy case, according to an InvestmentNews report. The complaint accuses Schorsch and some of his associates and companies of essentially looting RCAP and its public investors. According to a Law360 report, RCS Creditor Trust ties many of its allegations of “disloyal self-dealing” to Schorsch.

The complaint accuses the Schorsch and his associates of breaching or aiding breaches of fiduciary duty, duty of care, and duty of loyalty, as well as wasting corporate assets. Further, it alleges that nearly $1 billion in public stakeholder investments in RCAP were destroyed. One of the individuals named in the suit, Brian S. Block, was arrested on conspiracy, securities fraud and related charges in September 2016 in connection to a Schorsch-owned company, American Realty Capital Properties.

Former Houston, Texas-based Park Avenue Securities Broker Beth Ty Under Investigation Over Selling Away

March 27, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former Houston, Texas-based Park Avenue Securities (CRD# 46173) broker Lizabeth Gotuaco Ty (CRD# 4737319) (also known as “Beth Ty”) after FINRA permanently barred her.

According to Ty’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, FINRA permanently barred Ty in May 2016 after she failed to provide documents and information requested by FINRA during the course of an investigation into allegations that she sold unregistered securities. It has been alleged in a pending FINRA claim that Ty recommended that her clients invest in DayStar Funding LP (“Daystar”), which allegedly was outside of Park Avenue’s approved investments.

In July 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) filed a complaint against Frederick Alan Voight, owner and control person of Daystar, and Daystar alleging that it was a Ponzi scheme. In August 2016, Voight settled the SEC charges.

IMS Securities Broker Michael J. Spears Under Investigation Over Non-traded REIT Unsuitability Allegations

March 27, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating Houston, Texas-based IMS Securities Inc. (CRD# 35567) broker Michael J. Spears (CRD# 4501523) after two (2) customers filed complaints against Spears regarding non-traded REITs.

According to Spears’ FINRA BrokerCheck report, two customers filed complaints against Spears in 2016. The first, in August 2016, alleges negligence, misrepresentation, failure to supervise, breach of fiduciary duty and involves non-traded REITs. The FINRA arbitration claim alleges over $1.6 million in damages.

The second, filed in July 2016, also involves real estate securities as well as variable annuities (“VAs”). This FINRA arbitration complaint alleges negligence, overconcentration, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentations, failure to supervise and damages in the amount of $3 million.

How the SEC is Protecting Elderly Investors from Financial Exploitation

March 20, 2017 | Silver Law Group

The SEC National Exam Program concentrates on monitoring risks specific to elderly and retiring investors, at a time when it is needed most

Here’s the good news: in United States, people are living longer. As a result of this trend, the aging population in the U.S. is becoming more and more dependent upon their own investments for retirement income than ever before.

The bad news: This dependency upon retirement investments opens the door for fraudulent financial firms and advisers to take advantage of the elderly when managing their funds, an activity known as elder financial fraud.