Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog

VSR Financial Services Broker Dennis Van Patter Under Investigation for Oil and Gas Securities Recommendations

June 7, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating VSR Financial Services (“VSR”) broker Dennis Van Patter (“Patter”) (CRD# 1364583) for allegations that he unsuitably recommended oil and gas investments to his customers.

According to Patter’s Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) BrokerCheck report, Patter has nine misconduct disclosures on his record. Five of the complaints have settled, and one is a FINRA sanction that suspended Patter for 45 days.

According to the report, FINRA sanctioned Patter after the broker recommended that a retired customer invest in alternative investments unsuitable in light of the customer’s investment objectives and risk tolerance and heavily concentrated the customer’s assets in said investments. Overall, Patter invested $1.6 million of the customer’s money in various alternative investments, all of which were described as highly speculative or very risky, including notoriously volatile oil and gas drilling partnerships, non-traded real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and private placements.

Former South Florida-Based RBC Broker Lisa J. Lowi Under Investigation for Litany of Energy-Related Customer Complaints

June 6, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former South Florida-based RBC Capital Markets (“RBC”) broker Lisa J. Lowi (CRD# 1347790) for amassing 23 customer complaints since early 2015, many of which deal with energy-related investments.

According to Lowi’s Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) BrokerCheck report, 23 customer complaints have been reported against Lowi since February 2015, of which 14 are related to investments in the energy sector. The remaining complaints do not indicate the particular investment, so more complaints could potentially concern energy sector investments.

The complaints allege millions of dollars in investor losses and damages, and five have already settled. The remaining complaints are pending, and one has been withdrawn according to FINRA records.

SEC Files Complaint Against Registered Brokers After Tricking Investors Into Buying Coconut Creek, Florida-Based ForceField Energy, Inc.

June 5, 2016 | Silver Law Group

The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) filed charges against 10 individuals, five of which were registered brokers, involved in schemes to trick investors into buying shares of ForceField Energy Inc.

According to the complaint, the schemes involved ForceField’s then-chairman, Richard St. Julien, steering these registered brokers to sell the Coconut Creek, Florida-based company by bribing them with money and other benefits. All of these “benefits” were covertly given to the registered representatives, with the parties going so far as communicating with prepaid disposable “burner” phones and encrypted, content-expiring text messages.

The registered representatives included Richard L. Brown, Gerald J. Cocuzzo (CRD# 4047511) of Newbridge Securities Corporation, Naveed A. (Nick) Khan (CRD# 4615944) of Meyers Associates, Maroof Miyana (CRD# 4513966) of Legend Securities, and Pranav V. Patel (CRD# 130645) of Dawson James.

Frederick Monroe, 16-year Financial Advisor, Permanently Barred by FINRA

May 20, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Frederick Monroe, 16-year Financial Advisor, Permanently Barred by FINRA on silverlaw.com

Fraud, misappropriation of funds, and criminal charges—this New York broker is in serious trouble.

The subject of numerous customer disputes, Frederick Monroe has been barred from associating with acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public.

Frederick Monroe began his career in the securities industry in 1994 when he was employed by Robert W. Baird & Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was also employed by Voya Financial Advisors in Albany, New York, from February 2006 to June 2015. Before that, he was employed by Northwestern Mutual Investment Services in Latham, New York, from July 1994 to February 2006.

Martin Waldman Subject of a Securities Arbitration Claim

May 19, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Martin Waldman Subject of a Securities Arbitration Claim on silverlaw.com

This is the fourth complaint filed against the Raymond James broker Martin “Skip” Waldman of Boca Raton, Florida.

Boca Raton broker Martin Waldman now faces yet another client complaint. In his 13 years in the securities industry, Waldman has several reported disclosure events on his professional track record.

Waldman has been registered with and employed by the Boca Raton, Florida, office of Raymond James & Associates, Inc. since May of 2009. Prior to that, Waldman was registered with Vision Investment Services, Inc. and Northern Trust Securities, Inc., both located in Boca Raton.

Paul Posillico, Aegis Financial Corp., Investigation

May 18, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Manager Touching The Word UNAUTHORIZED Onscreen on silverlaw.com

Paul Posillico, a New York stock broker, is no longer licensed.

After ten years in the securities industry, Paul Posillico has been permanently barred from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public. Although his barring occurred in June of 2015, Posillico was in hot water with FINRA for years before, including five complaints against him and two regulatory disputes.

His employment history includes most recently working as a broker for Aegis Capital Corporation in Melville, New York, from February 2013 to October 2014. He was also employed at Obsidian Financial Group from April 2008 to April 2013, a firm that was expelled by FINRA in October 2013.

David Burke, Shearson Financial Services, LLC of Boca Raton, FL

May 17, 2016 | Silver Law Group

David Burke, Shearson Financial Services, LLC of Boca Raton, FL

David Burke has been barred by FINRA.

David Burke failed to respond the requests from FINRA for information, and as a result has been permanently barred from the securities industry. Accused of selling away, which means that Burke solicited clients to purchase securities not held or offered by his member firm, his alleged damages are in excess of $195k.

Burke’s employment history includes Shearson Financial Services in Boca Raton, Florida, where he was employed from October 2011 to November 2014. He also worked for Sunbelt Securities in Houston, Texas, LF Financial in Boca Raton, Florida, Capstone Investments in San Diego, California, and Carolina Capital Markets in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Murphy’s Misconduct

May 6, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Murphy’s Misconduct on silverlaw.com

New Jersey broker Edward T. Murphy permanently barred by FINRA due to multiple allegations of misconduct.

Multiple serious client complaints have plagued Wells Fargo broker, Edward T. Murphy over the last several years and he has now been permanently barred from all securities activity by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The ban comes after Murphy failed to request that this suspension be terminated within three months of the date of the notice of the suspension. He also failed to respond to an FINRA request for information. As a result, he is automatically barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity.

Allegations include negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and others

Silver Law Group Investigates U.S. Mutual Fund Companies with heavy concentration in Puerto Rican debt

May 4, 2016 | Silver Law Group

With Puerto Rico’s credit issues and default taking front and center in the media, people may not realize that the damage from what is going on is not limited to Puerto Rico but may affect a number of U.S. Mutual Fund Companies. In fact, the average, small passive investor may not appreciate that the mutual fund he and/or she owns actually holds a significant amount of Puerto Rico debt. Several municipal bond funds hold a large percentage of Puerto Rico municipal bonds despite the negative publicity and questions that have been raised about Puerto Rico and its ability to meet its obligations.

Here is a sample list of some mutual fund companies holdings a large percentage of Puerto Rican debt:

Oppenheimer Rochester Maryland Municipal;

Silver Law Group Continues to Investigate and Pursue Claims Against Brokerage Firms in Puerto Rico for Investment Losses in Leveraged Closed-End Bond Funds

May 3, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is pursuing securities arbitration claims for the sale of leveraged closed-end bond funds by brokerage firms such as UBS Financial Services, Inc. of Puerto Rico, Popular Securities, LLC, Santander Securities, LLC, Oriental Financial Services Corp., and Merrill Lynch. The investigation involves the sales practices of these brokerage firms concerning the failure to comply with FINRA rules and regulations in terms of the recommendation to buy and/or hold the leveraged closed-end bond funds which may result in a legal cause of action filed in a FINRA arbitration claim.

It has been estimated that investors in the closed-end funds sold by UBS Financial Services, Inc. of Puerto Rico lost $1.66 billion during the first nine months of 2013. Though UBS maintained the majority of market share, Silver Law Group also represents investors that maintained accounts at Popular, Santander, Oriental, BBVA and Merrill Lynch. The Puerto Rico government is allegedly defaulting on a $422 million debt payment due on May 2, 2015, and indicating it will default on the $2 billion payment due on July 1, 2016. As a result, the prices of the leveraged closed-end bond funds may continue to drop in value and investors may suffer additional losses.

If you invested in closed-end funds or believe you were sold other unsuitable investments related and/or tied to Puerto Rico, you may be entitled to recover some of your investment losses. Please contact Scott Silver of the Silver Law Group for a free consultation at ssilver@silverlaw.com or toll free at (800) 975-4345 to speak to an attorney to find out how we may be able to help you recover some of your investment losses.