Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog

Marat Zeltser Has Been Barred By FINRA After Numerous Allegations of Misconduct

January 10, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Marat Zeltser Has Been Barred By FINRA After Numerous Allegations of Misconduct on silverlaw.com

Allegations include willful violation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, among others

Marat Zeltser has a long history in the financial services industry, including working as a broker for various firms in New York, New York since 2003.

While employed by Caldwell International Securities Corporation, allegations against Zeltser included mishandling accounts, losing a client’s money and failing to follow client’s requests to sell a security. He also allegedly invested monies in an unsuitable triple leverage EFT’s over long periods of time.

FINRA Permanently Bars Honetta C. Kao After Allegations of Unauthorized Trading and Mishandled Accounts

January 10, 2016 | Silver Law Group

FINRA Permanently Bars Honetta C. Kao After Allegations of Unauthorized Trading and Mishandled Accounts on silverlaw.com

Numerous customer complaints surface over the course of his work history with various firms

On August 4, 2015, Honetta C. Kao was suspended by the FINRA for failure to respond to their request for information. And in November, he was permanently barred from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public.

Kao’s industry experience incudes ten different firms and on record, dates back to 2005 when he worked for Custom Capital Corporation in Brooklyn, New York. Accused of mishandling accounts, giving bad investment advice, making unsuitable recommendations and unauthorized trades, Kao racked up numerous customer complaints and damages while working at Meyers Associates, L.P. and Caldwell International Securities, both in New York.

FINRA Permanently Bars NY Broker Rasheed Adams After Allegations of Churning

January 10, 2016 | Silver Law Group

FINRA Permanently Bars NY Broker Rasheed Adams After Allegations of Churning on silverlaw.com

Excessive trading leads to $57K in commissions and $37K in losses for investors, among other allegations

In August of 2015, FINRA permanently banned New York financial advisor Rasheed “Richard” Adams from associating or engaging with any firm associated with FINRA after allegations of excessive trading were filed. Adams also failed to provide required FINRA information and paperwork related to these allegations and his investment activity. Adams allegedly gained a commission of approximately $57,000, while his customers lost approximately $37,000.

According to the FINRA complaint, Mr. Adams worked with Caldwell International Securities between 2011 and 2015, which is when these churning activities were alleged to have occurred. Previously, he was registered with PHD Capital (2010-2011) and E1 Asset Management Inc. (2002-2010). He is not currently registered with any FINRA member firm.

Jose Irizarry Permanently Barred by FINRA After Involvement in UBS Puerto Rico Fiasco

January 9, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Jose Irizarry Permanently Barred by FINRA After Involvement in UBS Puerto Rico Fiasco on silverlaw.com

After 17 years in the securities industry, Irizarry has been permanently barred

Jose Irizarry began working in the financial services industry in the early 1990’s. During his long career, he worked for various firms, including Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith in New York, PaineWebber in New Jersey and most recently for UBS Financial Services in San Juan Puerto Rico.

As of August, 2015, Irizarry has been permanently barred by the FINRA following a 3-month suspension in which he failed to request termination of his suspension in the specified time-frame.

Wells Fargo Advisor Robert M. Giusti Under Investigation for Unsuitable Recommendations and Other Alleged Misconduct

January 6, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating customer complaints against Wells Fargo advisor Robert M. Giusti (“Giusti”) located in New York, NY. There are four customer complaints against Giusti and one civil action alleging a number of securities law violations, including unsuitable investments, misrepresentations, negligence, unauthorized use of margin funds, and excessive trading.

The most recent FINRA arbitration was filed in April 2015 and alleged unsuitable investment recommendations, excessive trading, and misrepresentation and omission of material facts for exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) purchased between December 2010 and June 2015 totaling $1,326,374.00 in losses. Another securities arbitration filed in January 2012 similarly alleged unsuitable investment recommendations and settled for $45,000.00. A civil judgment was filed against Giusti in April 2015 for $1,100,000.00 by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, which was awarded this amount in a FINRA arbitration claim brought against Giusti.

Giusti entered the securities industry in 1995. He has been registered with 11 firms over the course of his career. From November 2006 through June 2009, Giusti was employed by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Giusti had a brief stint with Morgan Stanley June 2009 through September 2009. From August 2009 until December 2013, Giusti was associated with Merill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated in New York City. Most recently, Giusti has been employed by Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC since December 2013.

Wells Fargo Financial Advisor Donald Toomer, Jr. of Las Vegas, Nevada Accused of Penny Stock Fraud

January 6, 2016 | Silver Law Group

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Samuel DelPresto and his company with illicitly pocketing $13 million from an elaborate pump-and-dump scheme with the assistance of Donald Toomer, Jr.

The SEC alleges that DelPresto and others teamed up to secretly obtain control of substantially all available stock in four microcap companies and to facilitate coordinated trading that created the appearance of liquidity and market demand for the stocks. After unwitting investors were enticed through promotional campaigns to buy the stock at inflated prices, DelPresto dumped his shares on the market.

“The series of fraudulent schemes alleged in our complaint enticed unwitting investors to pay inflated prices for four companies secretly controlled by DelPresto and others and then left the investors holding the bag when the manipulative activity ceased and the stock price dropped,” said Andrew M. Calamari, Regional Director of the SEC’s New York office regarding the SEC action.

SEC Accuses Chris Brogdon of Securities Fraud Involving Multiple Different Entities

January 6, 2016 | Silver Law Group

The SEC alleges that Christopher Brogdon fraudulently raised $190 million from investors in 54 conduit municipal bond and private placement offerings, through entities associated with Brogdon. These entities potentially include the following offerings:

Bleckley-Cochran Development Authority First Mortgage Healthcare Facility Revenue Bonds 2013ABC/Bleckley-Bryant
Crisp-Dooly JT Development Authority First Mortgage Healthcare Facility Revenue Bonds 2013ABC/ Pine Hill

FINRA Releases Focus for 2016; Emphasis on Securities Firms’ Culture, Supervision, and Liquidity

January 5, 2016 | Silver Law Group

On January 5, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) released its 2016 Regulatory Examination Priorities letter highlighting three broad issues affecting investors and their rights: culture, conflicts of interest and ethics; supervision, risk management and controls; and liquidity. The letter also emphasizes sales practice, financial and operational controls, market integrity, and the significant role each of these plays in the way a securities firm conducts its business.

The overarching themes cited by FINRA are as follow:

Culture, Conflicts of Interest and Ethics – FINRA will formalize its assessment of firm culture to better understand how it impacts compliance and risk management and complete the review begun in 2015 regarding incentives and conflicts of interest in connection with firms’ retail brokerage business. FINRA will specifically assess five indicators of a firm’s culture:

FINRA Suspends Registered Individuals for Violations of FINRA Rules in December 2015

December 23, 2015 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for December 2015, 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
Adam Douglas Carrol	The Leaders Group, Inc.
Adam Douglas Carrol	Metlife Securities Inc.
Dennis Fitzgerald Davis	J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC
Dennis Fitzgerald Davis	Chase Investment Services Corp.
Stevaun I. Davis
Theodore Garrity	Feltl & Company
Theodore Garrity	Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated
Andy Edgar Hernandez	J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC
Andy Edgar Hernandez	Chase Investment Services Corp.
Geneero Tyrone Jackson	Pruco Securities, LLC
Geneero Tyrone Jackson	J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC
Tony Sang Jung	MML Distributors, LLC
Tony Sang Jung	MML Investors Services, LLC
Andreas Stavros Kentrotas	Morgan Stanley
Andreas Stavros Kentrotas	Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
Jay Max Mabry	Park Ave Securities
Jay Max Mabry	Regal Investment Advisors LLC
Brett James McCullough	Hancock Investment Services, Inc.
Brett James McCullough	Multi-Financial Securities Corporation
Joseph Anthony Mele
Mary Pearl Reed	Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC
Mary Pearl Reed	Morgan Stanley DW Inc.
Marguerite A. Sanders	J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC
Marguerite A. Sanders	Chase Investment Services Corp.
Eugene Theodore Smietana	LPL Financial LLC
Eugene Theodore Smietana	Prudential Securities Inc.
Jacqueline Lee Vadala	Craig Scott Capital, LLC
Jacqueline Lee Vadala	Rockwell Global Capital, LLC
Edward Francis Vincent	LPL Financial LLC
Edward Francis Vincent	UBS Financial Services, Inc.
Kenneth Robert Wooden	Edward Jones
Kenneth Robert Wooden	Chase Investment Services Corp.

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide 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.

FINRA Revokes Individuals Licenses for Failing to Comply with FINRA Rules in December 2015

December 23, 2015 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for December 2015, the following individuals were revoked from FINRA for failing to pay fines and/or costs pursuant to FINRA rules:

NAME	FORMER EMPLOYERS
Richard Dwayne Blair	Wealth Solutions, Inc.
Richard Dwayne Blair	IMS Securities, Inc.
Eul Hyung Choi	SH Investment & Securities
Eul Hyung Choi	Hanmi Asset Securities, Inc.
Gary Mark Giblen	R.F. Lafferty & Co., Inc.
Gary Mark Giblen	Petersen Investments, Inc.
Clavin Burchard Grigsby	Securities Capital Brokerage, Inc.
Clavin Burchard Grigsby	Grigsby & Associates, Inc.

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide 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.