Securities Lawyers Blog
The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that advisor David Rockwell (Rockwell) was discharged by his employer after being accused of misappropriating client funds. According to BrokerCheck records, Rockwell is formerly registered with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm Cetera Advisor Networks LLC (Cetera). In addition, Rockwell disclosed two customer complaints related to misappropriating funds. If you have been a victim of Rockwell’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.
Rockwell also discloses multiple criminal events, firm terminations, and one regulatory event. In May 2013 Rockwell discloses a guilty plea for assault and battery along with operating while intoxicated. Then in November 2018 Rockwell was accused of aggravated stalking.
In July 2015 the State of Florida accused Rockwell of making material false statement on the application for registration and denied his securities registration in the state.
In June 2019 a customer complained that Rockwell violated the securities laws by alleging that Rockwell misappropriated money from his investment accounts to invest in a private security related to a company owned by Rockwell. The claim alleges $500,000 in damages and settled for $215,000.
In July 2019 a customer complained that Rockwell violated the securities laws by alleging that Rockwell was involved in forgery and fraud regarding their accounts. The claim alleges $700,000 in damages and is currently pending.
Our law firm has significant experience bringing cases on behalf of defrauded victims when their advisors engage in receiving loans from clients or selling fraudulent securities sales through OBAs. The sale of unapproved investment products – is a practice known in the industry as “selling away” – a serious violation of the securities laws. In the industry the term selling away refers to when a financial advisor solicits investments in companies, promissory notes, or other securities that are not pre-approved by the broker’s affiliated firm. Sometimes those investments have some legitimacy but often times these types of investments can end up being Ponzi schemes or the advisor can be engaging in the conversion of funds.
When advisors convert or misappropriate funds they often create businesses or other vehicles to serve as a cover for the theft of funds. However, federal securities laws and the FINRA rules require firms to monitor and supervise its employees in order to detect and prevent brokers from offering investments in this fashion. In order to properly supervise their brokers each firm is required to have procedures in order to monitor the activities of each advisor’s activities and interaction with the public. Selling away misconduct often occurs where brokerage firms either fail to put in place a reasonable supervisory system or fail to actually implement that system. Supervisory failures allow brokers to engage in unsupervised misconduct that can include all manner improper conduct including selling away.
In cases of selling away the investor is unaware that the advisor’s investments are improper. In many of these cases the investor will not learn that the broker’s activities were wrongful until after the investment scheme is publicized, the broker is fired or charged by law enforcement, or stops returning client calls altogether.
Rockwell entered the securities industry in 2000. From December 2012 until June 2015 Rockwell was registered with Suntrust Investment Services, Inc. From June 2015 through November 2018 Rockwell was associated with Cetera out of the firm’s Fort Myers, Florida office location.
Investors who have suffered losses are encouraged to contact us at (800) 810-4262 for consultation. Investors may be able recover their losses through securities arbitration. The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are experienced in representing investors in cases of selling away and brokerage firms failure to supervise their representatives. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.