Selling Away

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Walter Shoczolek in Firm Sigma Financial Corporation

February 8, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that Broker Walter Shoczolek (Shoczolek) has been accused by investors of engaging in fraudulent misappropriation of their funds. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), it appears that Shoczolek was employed by Sigma Financial Corporation at the time of the activity. If you have been a victim of Shoczolek’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint with a damage request of $500,000.00 on September 13, 2023.

Customer alleged her investment was unsuitable and the representative liquidated it without her authorization.

Broker Dale Cebert in Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

February 7, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that Broker Dale Cebert (Cebert) has been accused by investors of engaging in fraudulent misappropriation of their funds. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), it appears that Cebert was employed by Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC at the time of the activity. If you have been a victim of Cebert’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint with a damage request of $6,547.40 on May 30, 2024.

The client alleged that 200 shares of Apple Stock (AAPL) were sold in her non-qualified SPS Advantage Individual TOD account in December of 2023 without her authorization.

Broker Jason Wolter in Morgan Stanley Firm Has Customer Complaint

February 7, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that Broker Jason Wolter (Wolter) has been accused by investors of engaging in fraudulent misappropriation of their funds. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), it appears that Wolter was employed by Morgan Stanley at the time of the activity. If you have been a victim of Wolter’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on March 28, 2024.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Wolter consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he exercised discretion in the accounts of two customers without written authorization from the customers and without seeking his member firm’s approval of the accounts as discretionary. The findings stated that one customer instructed Wolter to communicate with the customer’s son about transactions in his accounts, and the customer granted his wife and son power of attorney authority (POA) over his financial accounts. Wolter did not obtain a copy of the POA, inform his member firm of the POA, or amend the customer’s account information to reflect the POA or any authorizations over the customer’s account. Nonetheless, Wolter stopped seeking the customer’s prior approval for the transactions and, instead, sought prior approval from the customer’s wife or son, neither of whom were authorized in the firm’s records to approve transactions in the customer’s accounts. A second customer gave Wolter implied authorization to exercise discretion in the customer’s account, but Wolter did not have written authorization to exercise discretion in the account, and the firm did not approve the account as discretionary.

Broker Darren Ting in J.P. Morgan Securities LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

February 6, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that Broker Darren Ting (Ting) has been accused by investors of engaging in fraudulent misappropriation of their funds. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), it appears that Ting was employed by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC at the time of the activity. If you have been a victim of Ting’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on December 12, 2023.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Ting consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he exercised discretionary authority to effect trades in customer accounts without obtaining written authorization from the customers to exercise discretion and without his member firm having accepted the accounts as discretionary. The findings stated that although the customers understood that Ting was placing trades in the accounts, the customers had not provided prior written authorization for Ting to exercise discretion. The findings also stated that Ting caused his firm to maintain inaccurate books and records by mismarking solicited trades as unsolicited.

Broker Melanie Folstad in RBC Capital Markets, LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

February 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that Broker Melanie Folstad (Folstad) has been accused by investors of engaging in fraudulent misappropriation of their funds. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), it appears that Folstad was employed by RBC Capital Markets, LLC at the time of the activity. If you have been a victim of Folstad’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $33,927.71 on December 16, 2024.

Client contends that, in 2024, her financial advisor sold shares of apple inc. (AAPL) in her brokerage account without prior authorization.

Chun Elmejjad Barred Over Alleged Real Estate Scheme – Investor Recovery Options

November 12, 2024 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that advisor Chun Elmejjad (Elmejjad) has been accused by an investor and barred by a regulator for engaging in undisclosed investment activities including undisclosed outside business activities (OBAs). According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Elmejjad was employed by Equitable Advisors, LLC (Equitable) at the time of the activity. If you have been a victim of Elmejjad’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

On January 24, 2024, Elmejjad accepted a permanent industry bar with FINRA by failing to respond to the regulator’s requests for documents and information. The request for information was likely related to Elmejjad’s termination for cause in November of 2023 from Equitable when the firm filed a Form U5 claiming that Elmejjad was terminated due to violating company policy by accepting a loan and an investment from a client in connection with an undisclosed and unapproved outside business activity. Thereafter, a customer filed a complaint alleging that Elmejjad misappropriated funds that he loaned to Elmejjad in connection with real estate projects Elmejjad and her husband were involved in.

Todd Lesk Barred Over Unapproved Securities Activities – Investor Recovery Options

November 11, 2024 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that advisor Todd Lesk (Lesk) has been accused by multiple investors of engaging in fraudulent securities sales. Lesk was barred by a regulator for engaging in undisclosed investment activities including undisclosed outside business activities (OBAs). According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), it appears that Lesk was employed by LPL Financial LLC (LPL) and Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. (Cambridge) at the time of the activity. However, Lesk did business under the names Lesk Financial, RLA Financial, and CIRA. If you have been a victim of Lesk’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

In September 2022 LPL terminated Lesk for cause alleging that Lesk directed customers to invest in an unapproved investment, a LLC that the representative founded, without notice to, or approval from LPL.

In October 2023 Cambridge terminated Lesk for cause alleging that Lesk tendered his resignation based on the Firm’s understanding that the Lesk was unwilling to cooperate with either the regulators or Cambridge’s requests for information.

On October 6, 2023, Lesk accepted a permanent industry bar with FINRA by failing to respond to the regulator’s requests for documents and information. According to FINRA, Lesk consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he refused to provide information and documents and to appear for testimony requested by FINRA in connection with an investigation into whether he recommended that his customer invest in a crypto asset offering. Thereafter, multiple customers have filed complaints alleging that Lesk engaged in securities law violations.

Leslie Jackson Barred Over Alleged Promissory Note Sales – Investor Recovery Options

July 17, 2024 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that advisor Leslie Jackson (Jackson) has been accused by a regulator of engaging in undisclosed investment activities including undisclosed outside business activities (OBAs) and the sale of promissory notes. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Jackson was employed by Momentum Independent Network Inc. (Momentum) at the time of the activity but also did business under the name Jackson Financial Services. If you have been a victim of Jackson’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

On September 2023, Jackson accepted a permanent industry bar with FINRA and agreed to findings that he participated in private securities transactions totaling $1,975,000 without providing advance written notice to his firm prior to these transactions. FINRA found that Jackson participated in the sale of promissory notes issued by entities that claimed to be engaged in a business that provided financing to construction companies. According to the regulator, Jackson recommended the investments to five investors who ultimately purchased an aggregate $1,475,000 of the issuers’ promissory notes. Jackson alleged participation in the note sales included telling the investors about the notes, answering questions about the investments, helping the investors complete the subscription documents, and collecting the payments for the investments to provide to the issuers. According to FINRA, Jackson was compensated for his activities through periodic payments from the issuers in amounts equal to 3% of each investment per year during their respective terms.

Advisor Kieth Baron Sanctioned By Regulator Over Undisclosed Securities Dealings – Investor Recovery Options

February 11, 2024 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that advisor Kieth Baron (Baron) has been accused by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) of engaging in undisclosed outside business activities (OBAs) and private securities transactions. According to records kept by FINRA, Baron was last employed by Equity Services, Inc. (Equity Services) through January 2022. According to BrokerCheck, Baron has 11 disclosures on his record including two regulatory actions, two financial disclosures, one employment termination, and six customer complaints. If you have been a victim of Kieth’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

According to FINRA, Baron was named in a FINRA complaint alleging that he made material misrepresentations to investors in connection with his recommendation of a Company stock. The FINRA complaint alleges Baron failed to disclose to the couple that he was a consultant for the Company. FINRA is also claiming that Baron later made additional material false statements to an investor in connection with a buyback of the couple’s shares of the Company.

The complaint also alleges that Baron had an ongoing business relationship with Company A. Baron expected to receive compensation and received $284,890 in compensation from Company A. FINRA found Baron failed to provide prior written notice to his member firm concerning his business relationship with Company A. The complaint further alleges that Baron participated in private securities transactions by recommending investors purchase 4,348,000 shares of Company A’s common stock for $359,806. According to FINRA, Baron failed to provide written notice to his firm of his role in the sale of Company A’s common stock prior to participating in the sale.

Allen Hershberg Barred Over Real Estate Investments – Investor Recovery Options

May 18, 2023 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that advisor Allen Hershberg (Hershberg) has been accused by his former employer of engaging in business investment activities including undisclosed outside business activities (OBAs) and private securities transactions. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Hershberg was employed by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC (Morgan Stanley) at the time of the activity. If you have been a victim of Hershberg’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

Hershberg has been subject to regulatory action by FINRA and termination by Morgan Stanley. In July 2022, Morgan Stanley alleged that it had “Concerns Investigation regarding the representative’s unapproved outside real estate investments, as well as concerns regarding the representative’s recommendation of those same outside real estate investments to Firm clients and others, including through limited liability companies the representative created.”

With respect to the FINRA action, the regulator found that Hershberg consented to sanctions and findings that that he failed to provide documents and information requested by FINRA in connection with its investigation into allegations made in a Form U5 filed by his member firm. FINRA found that Morgan Stanley permitted Hershberg to resign due to concerns regarding his unapproved outside real estate investments, as well as concerns regarding his recommendation of those same outside real estate investments to firm clients and others, including through limited liability companies he created.

A review of Hershberg’s disclosed OBAs includes Ian Media Networks Advisor, CPV, LLC, Oak Park, Worthfield 1 LLC, and Dorchester 1 LLC. In addition, Hershberg discloses that he engages in rental property ownership and it appears that some of these entities are related to that business.