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Public Justice

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The US Justice Department today announced the conviction and sentencing of two former employees of SunTrust Bank who pled guilty to financial exploitation of an elderly person. Former SunTrust bankers Rashad Liverpool, 28, and Robert Tillery, 45, were each sentenced on March 5 after conviction of financial exploitation of an elderly person, in violation of Title 22, D.C. Code, Section 933.01(a)(3). The victim, a 72-year old military widow and bank client, had diminished capacities. During the summer of 2018, both Liverpool and Tillery paid frequent visits to the victim after normal business hours. This was a clear violation of SunBank’s policies. Elder financial abuse is on the rise. Florida is home to many seniors and others on a fixed income. Stockbrokers, financial advisors and other professionals frequently have insight into their clients financials and earn their trust. However, a fiduciary should never borrow, take or steal money from their clients. Our attorneys represent investors whose funds are improperly taken by their advisors or are the victim of financial elder abuse.The US Justice Department today announced the conviction and sentencing of two former employees of SunTrust Bank who pled guilty to financial exploitation of an elderly person.

Former SunTrust bankers Rashad Liverpool, 28, and Robert Tillery, 45, were each sentenced on March 5 after conviction of financial exploitation of an elderly person, in violation of Title 22, D.C. Code, Section 933.01(a)(3). Continue reading ›

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Jason Poff (Jason Howell Poff CRD:# 18272) is a registered broker and investment advisor currently employed with Allstate Financial Services, LLC of Houston, TX. Previous employers include LPL Financial LLC (CRD#:6413), Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD#:7691), and Chase Investment Services Corp. (CRD#:25574), all of Houston. He has been in the industry since 2000. Although Poff is still currently employed with Allstate Financial Services, he is the subject of a currently pending FINRA investigation into his outside business activities (OBA) while employed with LPL Financial. In a FINRA disciplinary complaint filed and signed on 12/23/2020, FINRA details Poff’s OBAs with a company he founded called Ursus Consulting LLC. Poff notified LPL and sought approval for involvement in an OBA that included vending machine consultation through Ursus in February of 2016.Jason Poff (Jason Howell Poff CRD:# 18272) is a registered broker and investment advisor currently employed with Allstate Financial Services, LLC of Houston, TX. Previous employers include LPL Financial LLC (CRD#:6413), Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD#:7691), and Chase Investment Services Corp. (CRD#:25574), all of Houston. He has been in the industry since 2000. Continue reading ›

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Gary Hammond (Gary Wayne Hammond CRD# 2660432) is a previously registered broker and investment advisor who last worked for Hornor, Townsend & Kent, Inc. and MML Investors Services, LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina for brief periods in 2017, but spent the bulk of his career registered with MSI Financial Services, Inc., also located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hammond worked in the industry since 1995. Gary Hammond Discharged By Employer For Selling Away And Violation Of Company Policies According to Hammond’s FINRA BrokerCheck Report, published by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), in April 2017, MML Investors Services terminated Hammond “in connection with an internal review relating to company policy as to the handling of a customer complaint and selling away.”  “Selling away” is the industry term that refers to the practice of selling products not endorsed or sold by the firm.Gary Hammond (Gary Wayne Hammond CRD# 2660432) is a previously registered broker and investment advisor who last worked for Hornor, Townsend & Kent, Inc. and MML Investors Services, LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina for brief periods in 2017, but spent the bulk of his career registered with MSI Financial Services, Inc., also located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hammond worked in the industry since 1995. Continue reading ›

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According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for February 2021, 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
  Lawrence Fawcett, Jr.   Westpark Capital, Inc.
  Salomon Whitney Financial
  Lawrence Freedman   Newbridge Securities Corporation
  Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  Ganesh Iyer   Morgan Stanley
  LPL Financial LLC
  Carolyn Neale   AXA Advisors, LLC
  UVest Financial Services Group, Inc.
  Paul Stanford   Santander Securities LLC
  Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
  Nelson Torrens   LPL Financial LLC
  UBS Financial Services Inc
  Wesley Wallace   Worden Capital Management LLC
  JD Nicholas & Associates, Inc.
  Maurice Wilde   Newbridge Securities Corporation
  IFS Securities

Continue reading ›

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According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for February 2021, 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. However, these individuals remain bound by the securities arbitration agreement to arbitrate any disputes between themselves and their former customers:

NAME FORMER EMPLOYERS
  Tracy Adams   Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
  IDS Life Insurance Company
  Ronald Bartsch   Union Capital Company
  Liberty Partners Financial Services, LLC
  Lynn Cawthorne   Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.
  Investment Professionals, Inc.
  Jorge Guzman   Pruco Securities, LLC
  Nelson Polun   Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
  Richard Ramos   Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC
  Curtis Smiley   Primex
  Sandlapper Securities, LLC
  David Stateman   Allstate Financial Services, LLC
  AXA Advisors, LLC
  Dwight Sulc   B.B. Graham & Company, Inc.
  PFS Investments Inc.
  Alon Zak   Pruco Securities, LLC
  MML Investors Services, LLC

Continue reading ›

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According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for February 2021, 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
  Spyridon Chandrinos   Millennium Advisors, LLC
  Chelsea Flohr   J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
  Jon Foster   Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  Caleb Hutzler   LPL Financial LLC
  Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC
  Narongdej Jaroensabphayanont   Voya Financial Advisors, Inc.
  Intersecurities, Inc.
  Aaron Pierett   Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
  Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC

Continue reading ›

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John Timberlake (John Hillman Timberlake CRD# 2109445) is a previously registered broker and investment adviser who was last registered with Carter, Terry & Company, Inc in Atlanta, Georgia. Before joining Carter, Terry & Company, Timberlake worked for Suntrust Investment Services, Inc. John Timberlake Disclosures John Timberlake has 6 disclosures on his publicly-available FINRA BrokerCheck report, including 4 customer disputes, 1 regulatory disclosure, and 1 employment separation after allegations disclosure: November, 2020: A regulatory disclosure initiated by FINRA resulted in Timberlake being suspended for four month and fined $10,000. “Timberlake consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he used his personal cellular phone to exchange numerous business and securities related text messages with customers without providing copies to his member firms, thereby preventing the firms from preserving the communications. The findings stated that Timberlake confirmed orders, communicated regarding specific securities and related news, and texted the customers information about their profits and losses. The findings also stated that Timberlake sent text messages to a customer that included promissory, exaggerated, unwarranted, and misleading statements.”John Timberlake (John Hillman Timberlake CRD# 2109445) is a previously registered broker and investment adviser who was last registered with Carter, Terry & Company, Inc in Atlanta, Georgia. Before joining Carter, Terry & Company, Timberlake worked for Suntrust Investment Services, Inc. Continue reading ›

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Michael Shillin (Michael Francis Shillin CRD# 5927156) is a barred broker who was last registered with A.G.P/Alliance Global Partners in Altoona, Wisconsin. Before working for A.G.P., Shillin was registered with Raymond James Financial Services and Edward Jones. Michael Shillin Disclosures and Wisconsin Finra Arbitration Claims Michael Shillin is the subject of 20 disclosures on his publicly-available BrokerCheck report, which includes 15 customer disputes (all but one of which are pending), 1 regulatory disclosure, 1 investigation initiated by the FINRA Department of Enforcement, and 3 disputes regarding employment separation after allegations: February, 2021: A customer dispute states that Shillin “recommended an IRA rollover that caused a taxable event, and that Mr. Shillin charged management fees that were higher than the amount that had been agreed upon. Client also stated that Mr. Shillin told him that he owned pre-IPO shares of SpaceX and Palantir, although it does not appear that the client ever purchased those shares. Further, client stated that Mr. Shillin lied about creating a living trust for him.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

Michael Shillin (Michael Francis Shillin, CRD# 5927156) is a barred broker who was last registered with A.G.P/Alliance Global Partners in Altoona, Wisconsin. Before working for A.G.P., Shillin was registered with Raymond James Financial Services and Edward Jones. Continue reading ›

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David Karandos (David Michael Karandos CRD# 1934119), a previously-registered broker and investment adviser who last worked for Dinosaur Financial Group, LLC in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the subject of multiple customer disputes. Before working for Dinosaur Financial Group, Karandos worked for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and UBS Financial Services. David Karandos Disclosures David Karandos is the subject of 12 disclosures on his publicly-available BrokerCheck report, which includes 6 customer disputes, 2 regulatory, 2 judgment/lien, 1 financial, and 1 criminal: November, 2020: A customer dispute alleged that “Karandos placed client in unsuitable investments from 2014 to 2018 and improperly withdrew funds from other family accounts from 2016 to 2018.” $436,000 in damages were requested and the dispute is pending as of this writing.David Karandos (David Michael Karandos CRD# 1934119), a previously-registered broker and investment adviser who last worked for Dinosaur Financial Group, LLC in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the subject of multiple customer disputes. Before working for Dinosaur Financial Group, Karandos worked for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and UBS Financial Services. Continue reading ›

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Ryan Raskin (Ryan Ashley Raskin CRD# 5539610) is a former registered broker and investment advisor was registered with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD#7691) in Beverly Hills, California from 2016-2020. Raskin previously worked with Morgan Stanley in Woodland Hills, California from 2009-2016. In March 2020, Raskin was discharged from Merrill Lynch following allegations of “business practices inconsistent with Firm standards, including inappropriate investment recommendations.” Following Raskin’s Termination From Merrill Lynch, FINRA Investigates According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), after Merrill Lynch reported Raskin’s discharge, FINRA started an investigation that included sending requests for production of information and documents to Raskin. Raskin did not respond to these requests. FINRA’s Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent with Raskin (AWC), states that Raskin acknowledged receipt of the requests, but “stated that he did not intend to respond . . .”. Failure to produce information and documents in response to FINRA’s request is a violation of FINRA Rules.  As a result, Raskin consented to a permanent bar from associating with any FINRA member in all capacities. Ryan Raskin (Ryan Ashley Raskin CRD# 5539610) is a former registered broker and investment advisor was registered with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD#7691) in Beverly Hills, California from 2016-2020. Raskin previously worked with Morgan Stanley in Woodland Hills, California from 2009-2016. Continue reading ›

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