Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog

FINRA Bars Timothy Landrum for Possible Misappropriation of Client Funds

January 28, 2015 | Silver Law Group

Timothy Landrum, of Atlanta, Georgia, submitted an AWC in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Landrum consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he failed to provide FINRA with on-the-record testimony in connection with an investigation into allegations that he misappropriated funds from the accounts of multiple bank clients. (FINRA Case #2014041267001)

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 Bars Registered Individuals for Violations of FINRA Rules

January 20, 2015 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for December, 2014, the following individuals were barred 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
Bryan Wayne Anderson	Pruco Securities, LLC
Bryan Wayne Anderson	Metlife Securities Inc.
Byron Ray Claflin	Pruco Securities, LLC
Courtney Lamant Crusoe
William Stanley David	Edward Jones
Tauber Lawrence Emmings	Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.
Tauber Lawrence Emmings	Gunnallen Financial, Inc.
Michael Melvin Frazier	Princor Financial Services Corporation
Michael Melvin Frazier	The Prudential Insurance Company of America
Arsen A. Gaboyan	JP Morgan Securities LLC
Arsen A. Gaboyan	Chase Investment Services Corp.
William Joseph Gaspar	Harbour Investments, Inc.
William Joseph Gaspar	Allied Beacon Partners, Inc.
Theresa Rene Harfoot	Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC
Akshay Balakrishna Hegde	National Securities Corporation
Akshay Balakrishna Hegde	VFinance Investments, Inc.
Erik Lawrence Hockenberry	LPL Financial LLC
Erik Lawrence Hockenberry	Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
Jeffrey Einer Lewis	HD Vest Investment Services
Patricia S. Miller	Investors Capital Corp.
Patricia S. Miller	Janney Montgomery Scott LLC
James Ward Noble	Terminus Securities, LLC
Devlin Wayne Osburn	Unionbanc Investment Services, LLC
Devlin Wayne Osburn	LPL Financial LLC
Stephen Eldridge Ridgely II	Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
Stephen Eldridge Ridgely II	Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
Andrea Sanchez	NSM Securities, Inc.
Andrea Sanchez	Max International Broker/Dealer Corp.
Monica L. Smith
Hope Renee Thomas	Invest Financial Corporation
Hope Renee Thomas	1784 Investor Services, Inc.
Julia Luisa Volkman	Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC

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.

FTC and State of Florida Charge Inbound Call Experts LLC and Advanced Tech Supportco LLC in $120 Million Fraud Scheme

January 19, 2015 | Silver Law Group

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Florida have filed a complaint alleging South Florida-based Inbound Call Experts LLC d/b/a Advanced Tech Support (“ICE”), Advanced Tech Supportco LLC (“ATS”), and their principals in a $120 Million telemarketing scheme through which ICE and ATS allegedly marketed deceptive computer software and tech support services to consumers that were little more than false promises aimed at bilking consumers of millions of dollars.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Florida, ICE and ATS used software designed to trick consumers into thinking that there were problems with their computers and then subjected those consumers to high-pressure deceptive sales pitches for tech support products and services to fix their non-existent computer problems. By preying upon consumers’ lack of technical knowledge, the companies were able to convince consumers that their computers were fraught with Spyware, Malware, viruses, and a multitude of computer errors for which those consumers purportedly needed security software and tech support services that each cost as much as $500. In all, the companies were able convince numerous consumers that the non-existent problems actually did exist, and Advanced Tech Support and others made millions of dollars of sales in the process.

Silver Law Group has successfully recovered multi-million dollar awards for its clients in a wide variety of fraud cases throughout the country and abroad. If you have questions about your legal rights, or have been the victim of telemarketing fraud or high-pressure sales pitches attempting to convince you to purchase needless computer software and computer repair services, contact Scott L. Silver to discuss your legal matter in a free consultation. CONTACT: Silver Law Group, 11780 W. Sample Road, Coral Springs, FL 33065; Telephone: (800) 975-4345 (Toll Free); Web site:www.oldsilverlaw.p7dev.com; E-mail: ssilver@silverlaw.com.

Stockbroker Patricia Miller Terminated for Allegedly Misappropriating Customer Funds

January 16, 2015 | Silver Law Group

Patricia Miller was associated with Investors Capital Corp from July 2010 until Investors Capital Corp fired her in May 2014. In October 2014, FINRA suspended her in all capacities from any FINRA firm for her failure to cooperate in a FINRA investigation. Investors Capital Corp is now facing multiple arbitration claims relating to Ms. Miller’s alleged misappropriation from multiple customers and Ms. Miller is facing criminal charges relating to her handling of client funds.

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.

Chapin Davis Settles Claims Relating to Structured Notes

January 16, 2015 | Silver Law Group

Chapin Davis, Inc., of Baltimore, Maryland, submitted an AWC in which the firm was censured and fined by FINRA $35,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, Chapin Davis agreed to the sanctions and to the findings in connection with the sale of structured products, the firm’s supervisory system and WSPs were inadequate. The findings stated that the firm sold approximately $24.5 million in structured notes and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured structured certificates of deposit (CDs) to retail customers. The firm did not have a system or WSPs for evaluating and conducting due diligence on the products, including determining risks and suitability issues, as applicable, and for approving the products. The firm offered limited training on the products, and its WSPs did not specifically address the products or provide guidance or restrictions unique to the products, including assessment or consideration of customer-specific suitability, as applicable. In addition, the firm did not sufficiently review transactions in the products, including monitoring of accounts for overconcentration of the products. (FINRA Case #2012030601701)

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.

Stephen Eldridge Ridgely, II Barred from Securities Industry

January 16, 2015 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating Stephen Eldridge Ridgely, II who was suspended by FINRA for failing to respond to FINRA requests for information.

Mr. Ridgely was registered with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.’s Plantation, Florida office from September 2012 through March 2014. Prior to that time, he was registered with Merrill Lynch’s Coral Springs, Florida office.

According to Mr. Ridgely’s BrokerCheck Report, he was the subject of a FINRA arbitration claim alleging unauthorized transactions which settled in August 2014. In November 2013, Merrill Lynch settled another claim involving Mr. Ridgely for $745,000 relating to claims alleging unauthorized trading, unsuitable investments and excessive trading.

FINRA Files a Complaint against Peter Michael Terlecky III for Improper Variable Annuity Sales

January 16, 2015 | Silver Law Group

Peter Michael Terlecky III, of Grand Island, New York, was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he circumvented his member firm’s supervisory and compliance procedures by concealing and failing to process variable annuity purchase transactions totaling approximately $2.3 million as annuity replacement trades, even though each purchase was funded by the sale of a fixed or variable annuity. Mr. Terlecky was registered with Princor Financial Services from 1992 through August 2011 and is currently registered with MML Investors Services, LLC. The complaint alleges that Terlecky concealed the variable annuity replacements from his firm’s supervisory review by structuring them as separate trades through a two-step process, rather than through annuity exchanges. Terlecky accomplished this by transferring the sale proceeds from the replaced annuity to a firm brokerage (money market) account and then, after waiting a short period, usually seven days or less, used the funds in the brokerage account to purchase the new variable annuity. Terlecky prepared and submitted new account forms and annuity documents to the firm for each of the variable annuity replacements containing numerous misrepresentations and items of false information that further disguised the true nature of these transactions. Terlecky earned greater commissions and avoided supervisory scrutiny by circumventing firm procedures and concealing the annuity replacements. Conversely, the customers allegedly suffered harm as a result of this misconduct by, among other things, being deprived of receiving firm-mandated disclosures of material facts regarding annuity replacements and the opportunity of performing a meaningful comparison between the annuities they were selling and those they were considering for purchase, and, in some instances, unnecessarily incurring new seven year surrender periods with their replacement variable annuities. (FINRA Case #2011029089201)

Investors who have suffered losses through the sale of variable annuities and non-traded REITsmay be able recover their losses through arbitration. The attorneys at Silver Law Group are experienced in representing investors in cases against brokerage firms for violations of the sales of these complex or high commission products. We primarily represent investors on a contingent fee basis and, in most cases, we will agree to advance any costs.

FINRA Files Regulatory Charges against Meyers Associates, L.P., Imtiaz A. Khan and Bruce Meyers for Improperly Marketing a Private Placement

January 16, 2015 | Silver Law Group

Meyers Associates, L.P. (CRD# 34171), Imtiaz A. Khan (CRD# 4084250) and Bruce Meyers (CRD# 1045447), of New York, New York, were named respondents in a FINRA complaint alleging that the firm and Meyers engaged in the improper public offering and sale of unregistered securities, in contravention of the Securities Act of 1933. The complaint alleges that through general solicitation, the firm and Meyers marketed an unregistered offering to over 1,000 individuals using boiler-plate emails, without first establishing a substantive relationship with each recipient solicited. In selling the offering, Meyers made exaggerated and unbalanced claims and improper predictions of how the stock would perform and omitted material facts, including full disclosure of the firm’s, Khan’s and Meyers’ ownership interest in the company. The emails did not contain adequate risk disclosures and failed to present a fair view of the investments. The FINRA complaint also alleges that the firm was required to file a private placement memorandum (PPM) for another offering with FINRA at or prior to the first time the document was provided to any prospective investor. The firm failed to do so and did not file the PPM until at least three months after providing the PPM to a prospective investor. Meyers was one of the majority owners of Sign Path Pharma, Inc.

The complaint further alleges that the firm failed to establish and maintain a reasonable system for maintaining accurate books and records. Khan and Meyers caused the firm to record payments in its books and records, including payments for personal expenses improperly. As a result, the firm willfully violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 17a-3, 17a-4 and 17a-5 thereunder; NASD Rule 3110; and FINRA Rules 2010 and 4511 by creating and maintaining inaccurate books and records.

In addition, the complaint alleges that the firm failed to establish and maintain a reasonable system, including adequate WSPs, for the review by a registered principal of incoming and outgoing electronic correspondence. The firm did not maintain any documentation that adequately identified the communications reviewed, the reviewers or the dates on which the communications were reviewed. The firm failed to report, and failed to timely report, customer complaints. Most of the complaints were sent to registered representatives via email, and contained allegations of sales practice violations. The firm failed to locate many of these emails through any supervisory review of email communications. The firm also failed to establish, maintain and enforce written supervisory control policies and procedures concerning the transmittal of customer funds and the activities of producing managers. In addition, the firm prepared a deficient NASD Rule 3012 report during 2009. (FINRA Case #2010020954501)

FINRA Files Disciplinary Charges against Global Strategic Investments, LLC

January 14, 2015 | Silver Law Group

Global Strategic Investments, LLC, of Miami, Florida, was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that it failed to investigate or report, where appropriate, unusual activity related to bond transactions and subsequent money transfers relating to a new business line. The FINRA complaint alleges that the firm launched a new business line that was immediately successful, facilitating currency exchanges through the liquidation of over $650 million worth of Venezuelan bonds for correspondent accounts of foreign financial institutions located in high-risk jurisdictions, Venezuela and Curacao. The firm failed to establish supervisory policies and procedures that can be reasonably expected to detect and cause the reporting of transactions required under the law and failed to establish and implement policies, procedures, and internal controls reasonably designed to achieve compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act. The firm failed to identify red flags associated with the Venezuelan bond accounts, its two largest customers, and their anticipated activity, and failed to adjust its procedures to account for the high-risk nature of this new endeavor. Instead, the firm primarily relied upon its new clients’ representations about the legitimacy of the transactions without further reasonable risk-based review to corroborate such representations. The firm’s over-reliance upon the client’s representations led to failures to detect red flags that should have required additional due diligence on the part of the firm. The firm did not have a sufficient infrastructure (policies, systems and procedures) to adequately monitor this business. The firm was or should have been aware of numerous red flags related to its customers’ Venezuelan bond liquidations. (FINRA Case #2011025676501)

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 Files Disciplinary Charges against Jonathan A. Francis

January 14, 2015 | Silver Law Group

Jonathan A. Francis, of Brooklyn, New York, was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he assisted third parties who improperly took over $200,000 in cash from customers’ accounts without the customers’ knowledge or consent. Jonathan Francis was previously registered with J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC. The complaint alleges that Francis issued automatic teller machine (ATM) cards in six dead customer’s accounts and an ATM card for the account of a customer who subsequently complained of an unauthorized withdrawal of funds from his account. Francis knew that the distribution of the unauthorized ATM cards was part of an overall scheme to convert funds from bank customers. Francis resigned from the bank and his firm before they could interview him about it hindering their investigation. The complaint also alleges that Francis failed to respond fully to FINRA’s requests for documents and information, and failed to appear for his continued on-the-record testimony. (FINRA Case #2013038988301)

We are currently involved in multiple cases against brokerage firms for mismanagement of elderly investors’ accounts and/or improper conflicts of interest between the financial advisor and the customer. We routinely work closely with estate planning attorneys to help resolve disputes between family members regarding the management of an elderly family member’s financial affairs and we are frequently consulted regarding the improper sale of securities or mismanagement of the portfolio by a fiduciary, trustee or other trusted advisor.

Silver Law Group represents the interests of investors who have been the victims of investment fraud. If you have questions about your legal rights, please contact Scott Silver of the Silver Law Group for a free consultation at ssilver@silverlaw.com or toll free at (800) 975-4345.