A National Securities Arbitration & Investment Fraud Law Firm
Nearly 20% of all Americans 65 and older have, at one time or another, become the victim of elder financial fraud – and with this age group one of the most rapidly-growing segments of the U.S. population, regulatory agencies like FINRA have decided they need to take new steps to combat the problem.
Midland, Texas-based broker Larry Stapp allegedly borrowed $200,000 from an LPL Financial LLC customer, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Stapp also reportedly falsely stated to the firm’s representative that the loan was not from a firm customer. In fact, according to FINRA, Stapp “submitted branch manager/financial advisor questionnaires to the firm in which he affirmed his compliance with the firm’s policies and procedures that [were] false because Stapp had borrowed funds from the firm’s customer that had not been repaid at the time each questionnaire was completed.”
In addition, these funds were reportedly borrowed from an 81-year old customer, leading to possible concerns over elder financial fraud.
After numerous customer complaints, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) began an investigation into the actions of broker Brian Sak. FINRA reported that he recommended to several clients that they invest in an outside business deal that his member firm knew nothing about. When Sak failed to provide FINRA with information, he was permanently barred from acting as a broker.
The investment Sak solicited his clients for was reportedly a real estate deal in which he himself was a partner. At the time, he was working for Morgan Stanley in Deerfield, IL. When the firm found out what Sak was doing, he was given the opportunity to resign.
Anthony Mastroianni is no longer allowed to act as a broker. Due to allegations against him concerning excessive trading and borrowing client funds, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) requested that he appear for on-the-record testimony. Because he refused, FINRA permanently barred him in December of 2016.
A 12-year veteran of the securities industry, Mastroianni worked for five firms, ending his career at Meyers Associates, LP, which was formerly known as Roan-Meyers AssociatesJoseph Stevens & Company, Inc. – Old Bridge, NJ
In January of 2012, Raul Jacobs began working as a broker for MetLife Securities Inc. out of Orland Park, IL. But just three years later, his career came to an end. While working for T2 Asset Management, LLC in Naperville, IL, he failed to tell the firm that he had power of attorney over a client account not associated with the firm, and admitted to stealing funds for his personal use to Illinois regulators.
Jacobs was discharged from T2 and then fined and suspended by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Because he never contacted FINRA to supply them with more information, the agency barred him permanently from acting as a broker.
In December of 2016, allegations surfaced claiming that broker Scott Goldman recommended an unsuitable investment strategy to an elderly customer. When the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) investigated, the agency fined Goldman $10,000 and suspended him for 20 days.
FINRA reported that Goldman’s strategy for his client involved leveraged metal products, which are risky investments. According to the report, the client was also not “adequately informed” of what the investment entailed and she didn’t understand the risks.
As of November 2016, Francesco Scarso, formerly with First Standard Financial Company LLC and Phoenix (PHX) Financial Services, is no longer allowed to act as a broker. The ruling came down from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) after Scarso – who was already suspended – failed to contact the agency to supply additional information.
Francesco Scarso began his career in 1996 with J.W. Barclay & Co., Inc. and worked for 12 firms, including these since 2007:
William Stephen Smith, a broker with nearly 30 years of professional experience, was fined $10,000 and suspended for three months by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). It’s reported that Smith didn’t disclose that he had served as the executor of a client’s estate, and that he received compensation for doing so while working at National Planning Corp. in Waterford, CT.
Smith’s firm has procedures in place requiring that their registered brokers disclose any outside business activities prior to engaging in them. In addition, the firm prohibits their representatives from acting as executors for client estates. In annual compliance questionnaires, Smith is reported to have lied, stating that he had notified his firm about his outside activities and that he wasn’t named as a beneficiary to any accounts.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) suspended Minnesota broker Jeffrey Jacobson for 15 days ending on December 12th, 2016 and fined him $7,500. Jacobson is alleged to have failed to adequately supervise a representative of his firm who initiated hundreds of trades for his elderly customers without contacting them. The representative is also reported to have unsuitably recommended transactions to those customers, including a variety of short-term trades in corporate and municipal bonds. Churning of municipal bonds is a particular problem, because the costs of bond trading are not transparent.
As a supervisor, Jacobson is alleged to have ignored warning signs of these unsuitable transactions, including unusually high trading activity in client accounts.
Up until recently, Rembert McNeer had a clean record with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). A broker for over 30 years, McNeer worked for three firms: E.F. Hutton & Company Inc.; G.A. Michele, Inc. in New York City; and Summit Equities, Inc. located in Parsippany, NJ.
But in October of 2016, FINRA found that McNeer failed to supervise the private securities transactions of one of his representatives. McNeer was the representative’s immediate supervisor, as well as the member firm’s chief compliance officer.
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