Securities Arbitration

Broker Lee Robert Donais Subject Of $200K Dispute

June 21, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Lee Robert Donais (CRD #2347440) was a registered broker with SCF Securities, Inc. (CRD #47275) of Lighthouse Point, FL, since 2012 through May 2018. His previous employers include Brookstone Securities, Inc. (CRD #13366), brokersXpress LLC (CRD #127081, now defunct), and LPL Financial Corporation (CRD #6413), also of Lighthouse Point, Florida. Donais has been in the industry since 1993.

On 4/17/2018 a client filed a complaint against Donais alleging “unsuitable investment recommendations,” and has requested damages of $200,000. This dispute is currently pending.

Donais has two employment separations. The first, from brokersXpress on 5/10/12, was due to Donais signing a customer’s name to a form for an IRA withdrawal. The customer, he claimed, requested Donais’ signature on the form because he was on travel and didn’t have access to a fax machine or other equipment to submit his own signature. Since the customer was enroute to a property closing in North Carolina, the transaction was necessary for the anticipated closing on May 10, 2012. When contacted by a company representative inquiring about the signature, he admitted signing the form at the customer’s request.

Keith D’Agostino

June 21, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Broker Keith Michael D’Agostino (CRD #2837860, also spelled “Dagostino”) is currently registered with Aegis Capital Corporation (CRD #15007) in Melville, NY since 2014. He has been in financial services since 2002.

D’Agostino’s most recent complaint was filed on May 11, 2017, with the client alleging “poor performance.” The client requested damages of $170,000 and Aegis settled this dispute for $92,000.

His only prior dispute was filed on August 12, 2013, while working for Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (CRD #793). The client alleged that D’Agostino engaged in “breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, common law fraud, violation of Florida law, and unjust enrichment.” The time frame for these allegations was June 2010 through January 2013. The client requested damages of $725,000, the company settled for $220,000.

FINRA Examines Claim Against Aegis Broker James Mariani For Negligence

June 21, 2018 | Silver Law Group

James J. Mariani (CRD #2932631) is a currently registered broker with Aegis Capital Corp. (CRD #15007) of Bayside, New York. He has been with Aegis for less than one year. His previous employers include:

National Securities Corporation (CRD #7569) of Mineola, NY
First Montauk Securities Corp. (CRD #13755) of Port Washington, NY

Broker David Schmerber Subject of Customer Dispute

June 21, 2018 | Silver Law Group

David Schmerber (CRD #2093918) is a currently registered broker and investment advisor with Cetera Advisors of Centerville, OH. He has been in the industry since 1990. His previous employers include:

LPL Financial LLC (CRD #6413)
Smith Barney Inc. (CRD #7059)

Former Broker James Pettit Barred By FINRA

June 21, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Former broker James Albert Pettit (CRD #733916), formerly of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. (CRD #6363), was barred by FINRA on 3/26/2018. This is the result of failing to comply with an arbitration award, and providing proof of the compliance. The bar is indefinite, and in all capacities until the award is paid.

Pettit is the subject of two FINRA regulatory actions and one by the state of Connecticut.

Pettit’s former employers include:

FINRA Investigates Broker Matthew Eckstein For Fraud

June 20, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Matthew Evan Eckstein (CRD #2997245) was a registered broker with Sisk Investment Services, Inc. (CRD #19406) of Syossett, NY. He has been with Sisk since 2015. Eckstein was previously employed by Gould, Ambroson & Associates Ltd. (CRD #17412) of Garden City, NY. Our New York securities arbitration lawyers are representing investors in claims against Eckstein’s former employers.

Eckstein is currently the subject of a FINRA disciplinary complaint, filed on 04/27/2018. Multiple fraud allegations against Eckstein were filed by four of his customers. The facts of the case, based on FINRA records, include:

Eckstein recommended and sold these securities to four of his clients, all of whom were over 50, and had conservative portfolios. One of them was unemployed, two were still employed, one of whom was retiring, and the other sold her home and invested some of the proceeds. The fourth was retired on disability after a car accident, and invested her case settlement with him.

First Nationle Solution LLC, United RL Capital Services, and Percipience Global Corp. $102 Million Ponzi Scheme Attorneys

June 20, 2018 | Silver Law Group

The SEC has shut down a $102 Million Ponzi Scheme that was defrauding investors in several states. The complaint that was filed in federal district court in Manhattan charges Perry Santillo from Rochester, New York, Christopher Parris from Rochester, New York, Paul LaRocco from Ocala, Florida, John Piccarreto from San Antonio, Texas, and Thomas Brenner from Orville, Ohio. These brokers are said to have defrauded over 600 investors through sales of securities in issuers that they controlled including the following: First Nationle Solution LLC, United RL Capital Services, and Percipience Global Corp. If you or someone you know lost their investment by investing with one of these brokers and/or companies, then it is highly recommended to speak to an attorney in order to assess your potential legal options to recover your investment capital.

The SEC Allegations of Fraud

Pension Fund Fraud Recovery Attorneys

June 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Bahram-Mirhashemi-Facing-Allegations-of-Elder-Financial-Fraud-300x200 Recently there has been a trend in fraud surrounding various types of pensions. Since individuals can receive extensive incomes annually through various form of pensions, this has attracted misconduct by financial advisors and others frequently in the form of high fees and undisclosed conflicts of interest. It is important for individuals to be aware of the various forms of pension fraud that are occurring in the marketplace today. If you suspect that you have been a victim of any of the pension frauds listed below, it is important to speak with an attorney to see your potential rights of recovery.

Employer Pension Frauds

Employers can commit pension fraud in many different ways. There can be fundamental misrepresentations made about if they have funded pensions, miscalculation of employees’ pension benefits can occur, and they can mismanage pension investments that cause detrimental losses to pension funds. One of the more severe kinds of employer pension fraud that has occurred is when the employer borrows funds from employees’ pension funds to cover losses in the company’s business.

Silver Law Group is Investigating Timary Delorme of Wedbush Morgan Securities

June 8, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Timary Delorme (CRD #736418) was the subject of a March 2018 regulatory action by the Securities & Exchange Commission. Delorme was employed at the Los Angeles branch of Wedbush Morgan for over 40 years.

In the recent regulatory action, the SEC found that Delorme violated federal securities laws stemming from her involvement in a manipulative trading scheme at Wedbush Morgan. The SEC ordered Delorme to cease and desist from further violating any more federal securities laws as well as barred her from association with any securities broker or investment adviser.

Delorme has also been the subject of a recent FINRA customer dispute alleging $250,000 in damages. In the pending dispute, the Claimant alleges fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract on the part of Delorme. In a past dispute from 2012, a Claimant alleged that Delorme engaged in fraud, deceit, material misrepresentation, and extortion, among other claims, in connection with the Claimant’s account. The Claimant alleged $750,000 in damages as a result of Delorme’s misconduct.

Royal Alliance Associates Arbitration Lawyer

June 1, 2018 | Silver Law Group

The recent arrest of former broker Gary Basralian (CRD #14385) for defrauding two clients of $2.1 million also raises allegations of failure to supervise about his brokerage firm, Royal Alliance Associates (CRD #23131.) According to news reports, Basralian embezzled money from two elderly women and used the funds for his own expenses. When the discrepancies were discovered, the elderly victims’ attorney notified both the FBI and DOJ. Both agencies took immediate action, and Basralian was arrested May 23, 2018 on charges of wire and investment adviser fraud. He could face as much as 25 years in prison.

The stockbroker in question allegedly deliberately sought out vulnerable victims who might not notice that he was stealing funds directly from their accounts. Basralian is, himself, 70 years of age—so he likely embezzled from his contemporaries. When the law firm representing the two victims contacted Royal Alliance, Basralian was not immediately terminated, but allowed to resign. He signed a FINRA agreement and was barred from being a broker or affiliated with any broker firms.

But what about the brokerage firm, Royal Alliance, that failed to stop him? And why didn’t Royal Alliance notice or stop Basralian’s unethical activities over a ten-year period? Allegations against Royal Alliance in this case include inadequate supervision of brokers and lax anti-money laundering compliance that allowed this to not only happen, but continue. But this is not the first time Royal Alliance has been host to broker misbehavior, with several instances of “failure to supervise” kinds of sanctions.