A “penny stock” is defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a security issued by a very small company, micro-cap or less than $100 million in market capitalization, and trades at less than $5 per share. Penny stocks generally are quoted over-the-counter, such as on the OTC Bulletin…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred Todd Lloyd Goedeke and Ronald W. Nichter from the financial industry after the brokers were accused of misappropriating funds from customers. In March 26, 2004, Goedeke became a registered representative with Cantella & Co., Inc. (Cantella), a FINRA regulated broker-dealer. Goedeke remained…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently entered a default decision against George Alexander Kardaras (Kardaras) and Brian Matt Borakowski (Borakowski) after having alleged that the two brokers perpetrated a Ponzi scheme. FINRA found that the two solicited at least 12 customers over four years to invest more than $665,000…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has filed a complaint against Success Trade Securities, Inc (STS) and its CEO and President Fuad Ahmed (Ahmed) accusing them of improperly selling $18 million worth promissory notes. The promissory notes were issued by STS’ parent company Success Trade, Inc. (STI) to 58 investors.…
Former Merrill, Lynch Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. (Merrill Lynch), Deutsche Bank Securities (Deutsche Bank), Inc., and Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. (Oppenheimer), broker Karl Edward Hahn (Hahn) was ordered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to pay former clients over $11 million for misconduct in April 2013. Hahn was…
David Mickelson has been accused by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) of improperly selling approximately $8.3 million worth of various private placements to at least 71 customers without informing his brokerage firm (a practice known as “selling away“). From 2004 through May 2011, Mickelson was associated with NFP Securities,…
On March 6, 2013, Adorean Boleancu reached a settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) concerning allegations that he converted at least $650,000 from a customer. By agreeing to the FINRA settlement Boleancu does not admit or deny any of the findings made against him but accepts a bar…
Blake Richards (Richards), a former Georgia representative of LPL Financial (LPL), was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with defrauding investors and misappropriating $2 million dollars from at least seven clients. According to the complaint filed by the SEC in the Northern District Court of Georgia, Richards directed…
On August 14, 2013, the Securities & Exchange Commission issued a press release explaining that it had charged two JPMorgan traders with attempting to conceal investor losses by overvaluing the investments in a portfolio that they managed. The traders were Javier MarBecause of the overvalued investments, JPMorgan’s first quarter income…
In 2010, College Health and Investment Ltd (College Health), a family limited partnership, filed a case against Wells Fargo & Co. (Wells Fargo) in Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration. College Health accused Wells Fargo of failing to detect the theft and unauthorized transactions in College Health’s account. College Health…