The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently barred broker Robert Acri (Acri) concerning allegations that in December 2013, and January 2014, Acri failed to fully respond to a Rule 8210 request for documents and information concerning Acri’s sale of alternative investments and promissory notes. Acri first entered the securities industry…
Articles Posted in Securities Attorney
Mislead into Investing in Tenants-in-Common (TIC) Property?
The sales of Tenants-in-Common (TIC) interests grew significantly during the early 2000s from approximately $150 million in 2001 to approximately $2 billion by 2004. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has noted that TICs are illiquid investments for which no secondary market exists and that subsequent sales of the property…
The Risks of Investing In Variable Annuities
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred broker Mark R. Talley (Talley) formerly of Fifth Third Securities, Inc. concerning allegations of misrepresenting the properties of a variable annuity product to a customer. Our firm has received complaints concerning variable annuities from a number of clients complaining that their broker…
New York State Fines AXA Equitable $20 Million Over Variable Annuity Products
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced on March 17, 2014, that AXA Equitable (AXA) agreed to a consent order to pay a $20 million fine to the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) for violations relating to certain variable annuity products. The DFS investigation uncovered that AXA made changes to…
Bill Tatro and Mary Helen Caprice Mallett Accused of Selling Unsuitable Private Placements Securities Part II
This post continues our investigation into the recent bar of broker William (Bill) Tatro by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and his relationship with Mary Helen Caprice Mallett (Mallett), Tatro’s wife, colleague, and business partner. Mallett has also had a large number of customer complaints initiated against her. Mallett’s…
Allen Olander of Centaurus Financial Sanctioned Over Variable Annuity Sales
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sanctioned broker Allen B. Olander (Olander) of Centaurus Financial, Inc. (Centaurus) concerning allegations that Olander failed to disclose an IRS lien on his Form U4, borrowed money from a customer, and made unsuitable recommendations in the sale and exchange of variable annuities. This is…
JP Turner Sanctioned By FINRA Over Non-Traditional ETF Sales and Mutual Fund Switches
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ordered J.P. Turner & Company, L.L.C. (JP Turner) to pay $707,559 in restitution to 84 customers for sales of unsuitable leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds (Non-Traditional ETFs) and for excessive mutual fund switches. The current fine and is just one of several sanctions that…
Silver Oak Securities Fined Over Non-Traditional ETF Sales
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sanctioned brokerage firm Silver Oak Securities, Inc. (Silver Oak) concerning allegations from January 2009, to December 2010, Silver Oak failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system reasonably designed to achieve compliance with applicable securities laws regarding the sale of leveraged and inverse Exchange-Traded…
FINRA Alleges Royal Securities Company Failed to Supervise the Sale of Church Investments – Part II
This article continues the findings of The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) that led to sanctions against Royal Securities Company (Royal Securities) concerning allegations Royal lacked adequate supervision and controls in several areas. FINRA found that from 2009 through 2011, Royal Securities failed to establish adequate supervisory systems to ensure…
Matrix Capital and Christopher Anci Sanctioned by FINRA Over Variable Annuity Practices
In or about May 2010, a registered representative who concentrated in variable annuities became registered with Matrix Capital Group, Inc. (Matrix) and remained with Matrix until April 2011. According to FINRA, during a one year period the representative recommended 17 customers surrender their existing variable annuities and replace them with…