Investment Attorney

Broker Investigation: Claims Against Advisor Brett Murphy

February 8, 2017 | by Staff Attorney

The securities lawyers of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against broker Brett Murphy (Murphy). According to BrokerCheck records Murphy has been subject to at least two customer complaint, and one financial disclosure. The customer complaints against Murphy allege securities law violations that including unsuitable investments and unauthorized trading among other claims.

In August 2016, a customer filed a complaint alleging that Murphy was not properly supervised, and excessively traded the account in unsuitable unit investment trusts while employed at Oppenheimer & Company Inc. from July 2011 through August 2016 causing $2,000,000 in damages. The claim is currently pending.

One customer complaint filed in March 2015, alleged that Murphy made unauthorized transactions in customers account causing aggregate losses of approximately $5,000.

Wunderlich Securities Broker Howard Brous Has 14 Regulatory Sanctions

January 26, 2017 | by Staff Attorney

Our securities fraud attorneys are investigating customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against Howard Brous (Brous) currently associated with Wunderlich Securities, Inc. (Wunderlich) alleging unsuitable investments, common law fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty among other claims. According to brokercheck records Brous has been subject to six customer complaints, 14 regulatory sanctions, and one employment separation for cause. The majority of Brous’ regulatory sanctions involve multiple state regulators seeking heightened supervision plans and otherwise restricting Brous’ activities.

In August 2016 a customer filed a complaint stating that they had maintained an account with Brous for over 10 years and that his accounts were over concentrated in unsuitable securities. The customer alleged damages of $2,500,000. The claim is currently pending.

Brokers in the financial industry have the fundamental responsibility to treat investors fairly. This obligation includes making only suitable investments for their client. The suitable analysis has certain requirements that must be met before the recommendation is made. First, there must be reasonable basis for the recommendation for the investment based upon the broker’s and the firm’s investigation and due diligence. Common due diligence looks into the investment’s properties including its benefits, risks, tax consequences, the issuer, the likelihood of success or failure of the investment, and other relevant factors. Second, if there is a reasonable basis to recommend the product to investors the broker then must match the investment as being appropriate for the customer’s specific investment needs and objectives. These factors include the client’s age, investment experience, retirement status, long or short term goals, tax status, or any other relevant factor.

Dominic Tropiano Accused of Selling Unsuitable Leveraged ETFs

January 21, 2017 | by Staff Attorney

Our securities fraud attorneys are investigating customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against Dominic Tropiano (Tropiano) currently not associated with any broker-dealer. The complaints against Tropiano allege unsuitable investments, unauthorized trading, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty among other claims. Many of the complaints involve leveraged and non-traditional exchange traded funds (ETFs) securities. According to brokercheck records Tropiano has been subject to five customer complaints.

The most recent complaint was filed in August 2016 alleging investments in leveraged ETFs, violations of the Ohio Securities Act and FINRA rules, negligence, unsuitability among other claims. The complaint alleged $800,000 in damages and is currently pending.

As a background, non-traditional ETFs are speculative securities that are rarely appropriate for retail investors. Non-traditional ETFs are usually used by institutional investors engaging in sophisticated strategies. Non-traditional ETFs use a combination of derivatives instruments and debt to multiply returns on an underlining asset basket such as a stock, commodity, currency or other index. These funds often attempt to generate 2 to 3 times the return of the underlining asset class. Non-Traditional ETFs are also used to earn the inverse – or opposite – result of the return of the benchmark. Non-Traditional ETFs are generally designed to be used only for short term trading – in many cases for only holding the security for a single day.

Financial Advisor Cary Kievman Subject to Multiple Customer Complaints

December 9, 2016 | by Staff Attorney

Our investment attorneys are investigating customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against financial advisor Cary Kievman (Kievman) alleging unsuitable investments and over concentrated positions among other claims. According to brokercheck records Kievman has been subject to five customer complaints.

In August 2016 a customer filed a complaint involving Kievman alleging that from April 2013-October 2014, and from September 2015-December 2016, respondent recommended unsuitable short-term equities, over-concentrated the account in equities, and that he did not receive advice regarding his 2015 required minimum distribution which caused him to miss the RMD and suffer a penalty of $6,000. The claim is current pending.

In a complaint filed in March 2016, a customer alleged that Kievman recommended unsuitable investments that were over-concentrated and did not code her risk tolerance correctly or fully disclose the risks of the investments. The customer is claiming $143,394 in damages. The claim is currently pending.

Broker Investigation: Customer Complaints Against Advisor Christian Herrera

November 18, 2016 | by Staff Attorney

Attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against Christian Herrera (Herrera) alleging unsuitable investments and unauthorized trading among other claims. According to brokercheck records Herrera has been subject to five customer complaints, one financial disclosure – a bankruptcy, and one regulatory event.

A customer filed a complaint in October 2013 alleging that the broker made unsuitable recommendations by over-concentrating their leading to $39,229 in losses. The claim was settled for $14,000.

Brokers in the financial industry have the fundamental responsibility to treat investors fairly. This obligation includes making only suitable investments for their client. The suitable analysis has certain requirements that must be met before the recommendation is made. First, there must be reasonable basis for the recommendation for the investment based upon the broker’s and the firm’s investigation and due diligence. Common due diligence looks into the investment’s properties including its benefits, risks, tax consequences, the issuer, the likelihood of success or failure of the investment, and other relevant factors. Second, if there is a reasonable basis to recommend the product to investors the broker then must match the investment as being appropriate for the customer’s specific investment needs and objectives. These factors include the client’s age, investment experience, retirement status, long or short term goals, tax status, or any other relevant factor.

Leonard Fox Barred Over Borrowing Customer Funds

October 31, 2016 | by Staff Attorney

The investment fraud lawyers of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating the regulatory complaint filed by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) involving former FSC Securities Corporation (FSC) broker Leonard Fox (Fox) out of the firm’s Marlton, New Jersey office. According to BrokerCheck records Fox has been subject to four customer complaints and two regulatory actions.

In August 2016, FINRA brought a regulatory action and barred Fox from the industry. (FINRA No. 2016050482101). FINRA alleged that Fox consented to the sanctions and findings that he failed to respond to FINRA’s requests for documents and information related to an investigation into allegations that he had borrowed and misappropriated funds from a firm customer. This was not the first time FINRA accused Fox of borrowing customer funds. In May 2012, FINRA brought a separate action against Fox alleging that Fox borrowed $10,000 from a client and suspended him for 10 days. The providing of loans or selling of notes and other investments outside of a brokerage firm constitutes impermissible private securities transactions – a practice known in the industry as “selling away”.

At this time it is unclear the nature and scope of Fox private securities transactions. However, according to brokercheck records, Fox has disclosed OBAs listed as including Fox Wealth Management Group, LLC. Often times, brokers sell promissory notes and other investments through side businesses as accountants, lawyers, real estate brokers, or insurance agents to clients of those side practices.

Broker Investigation: Complaints Against Caeron McClintock

October 19, 2016 | by Staff Attorney

The securities fraud lawyers of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) against broker Caeron McClintock (McClintock). According to BrokerCheck records McClintock has been the subject of at least two customer complaints and two judgements or liens. The customer complaints against McClintock allege a number of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments, unauthorized trading, and churning (excessive trading) among other claims.

The most recent complaint was filed in August 2016 and alleged unauthorized trading causing $17,000 in damages. The complaint is currently pending. In December 2015 another investor filed a similar complaint and alleged negligence, misrepresentation, and churning causing $50,000 in damages. The complaint is currently pending

When brokers engage in excessive trading, sometimes referred to as churning, the broker will typical trade in and out of securities, sometimes even the same stock, many times over a short period of time. Often times the account will completely “turnover” every month with different securities. This type of investment trading activity in the client’s account serves no reasonable purpose for the investor and is engaged in only to profit the broker through the generation of commissions created by the trades. Churning is considered a species of securities fraud. The elements of the claim are excessive transactions of securities, broker control over the account, and intent to defraud the investor by obtaining unlawful commissions. A similar claim, excessive trading, under FINRA’s suitability rule involves just the first two elements. Certain commonly used measures and ratios used to determine churning help evaluate a churning claim. These ratios look at how frequently the account is turned over plus whether or not the expenses incurred in the account made it unreasonable that the investor could reasonably profit from the activity.

Ameriprise Financial Advisor Kim Isaacson Subject to Fraud Complaints

October 17, 2016 | by Staff Attorney

The securities lawyers of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating a customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against broker Kim Isaacson (Isaacson). According to BrokerCheck records Isaacson has been subject to at least four customer complaints, one employment termination, and one regulatory investigation. The customer complaints against Isaacson allege securities law violations that including unsuitable investments and misrepresentations among other claims.

In April 2016, FINRA opened an investigation for potential violations of industry rules for making verbal misrepresentations to a firm customer about the customer’s account values and performance.

In February 2016 a customer filed a complaint alleging unsuitable investments and misrepresentations with respect to equity investments in account and providing inaccurate information about the accounts performance from 2008 through 2014.

Broker Investigation: Advisor Bassam Salem

September 21, 2016 | by Staff Attorney

The securities lawyers of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating a customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against broker Bassam Salem (Salem). According to BrokerCheck records Salem has been subject to at least two customer complaints. The customer complaints against Salem allege securities law violations that including unsuitable investments, unauthorized trading, and breach of fiduciary duty among other claims. The most recent claim involves allegations over oil and gas investments and UITs and was filed in May 2016 seeking $281,000 in damages.

Brokers have a responsibility treat investors fairly which includes obligations such as making only suitable investments for the client. In order to make a suitable recommendation the broker must meet certain requirements. First, there must be reasonable basis for the recommendation the product or security based upon the broker’s investigation and due diligence into the investment’s properties including its benefits, risks, tax consequences, and other relevant factors. Second, the broker then must match the investment as being appropriate for the customer’s specific investment needs and objectives such as the client’s retirement status, long or short term goals, age, disability, income needs, or any other relevant factor.

Salem entered the securities industry in 1986. From 1992 through January 2011 Salem was registered with UBS Financial Services, Inc. Finally, from January 2011 until August 2016 Salem was associated with Wunderlich Securities, Inc. out of the firm’s Birmingham, Michigan office location.

Customers Files Complaints Against Wells Fargo Broker Thomas Braley

September 19, 2016 | by Staff Attorney

The securities lawyers of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against broker Thomas Braley (Braley). According to BrokerCheck records Braley has been subject to at least four customer complaints. The customer complaints against Braley alleges securities law violations that including unauthorized trading , unsuitable investments, and misrepresentations among other claims.

In May 2016 a customer filed a complaint against Braley alleging that unsuitable investment recommendations were made, excessive trading, and misrepresentation from January 2013 to February 2016 that caused $180,000 in damages. The complaint is currently pending.

Brokers have a responsibility treat investors fairly which includes obligations such as making only suitable investments for the client. In order to make a suitable recommendation the broker must meet certain requirements. Advisors are also not allowed to engage in unauthorized trading. Such trading occurs when a broker sells securities without the prior authority from the investor. All brokers are under an obligation to first discuss trades with the investor before executing them under NYSE Rule 408(a) and FINRA Rules 2510(b). These rules explicitly prohibit brokers from making discretionary trades in a customers’ non-discretionary accounts. The SEC has also found that unauthorized trading to be fraudulent nature because no disclosure could be more important to an investor than to be made aware that a trade will take place.