Securities Lawyers Blog

Broker Jeremy Slone in Mwa Financial Services Inc. Firm Has Customer Complaint

March 20, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Jeremy Slone (Slone), currently associated with Mwa Financial Services Inc., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Slone recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $34,000.00 on September 16, 2024.

Consumer alleges they and their spouse purchased a life insurance policy in 1988. Consumer alleges in the following years they were told the annual premium for the life insurance would be paid from the cash value of the insurance policy, so consumer assumed they did not need to make additional premium payments. The consumer stopped making additional premium payments in or around 1994. Consumer’s spouse passed away in August 2023. Upon calling to make a claim, consumer alleges they found out the policy had been cancelled for failing to pay premiums. Consumer alleges they were not notified of the policy’s cancellation. Consumer is alleging breach of contract, common law bad faith, statutory bad faith, engaging in unfair trade practices, negligence and fraud through statements and assertions.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Christina Skipper in Firm Wealth Enhancement Brokerage Services, LLC

March 20, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Christina Skipper (Skipper), previously associated with Wealth Enhancement Brokerage Services, LLC, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one tax lien, alleging that Skipper recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on September 13, 2024.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Skipper consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that she fabricated an email in an attempt to conceal that her team failed to submit a redemption request on behalf of a member firm customer before the redemption deadline expired. The findings stated that to conceal this mistake, Skipper sent an email to the product issuer that included a redemption request her firm had purportedly sent to the product issuer. Skipper’s firm was later able to redeem the investment, and the customer did not suffer any loss as a result of Skipper’s misconduct.

Broker Monique Russell in PFS Investments Inc. Firm Has Customer Complaint

March 20, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Monique Russell (Russell), currently associated with PFS Investments Inc., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one tax lien, alleging that Russell recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on September 16, 2024.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Russell consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that she certified to the State of New York that she had personally completed 15 hours of continuing education required to renew her state insurance license when, in fact, another person had completed that continuing education on her behalf.

Broker Bowman Nicholson in Capital Investment Group, Inc. Firm Has Customer Complaint

March 20, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Bowman Nicholson (Nicholson), currently associated with Capital Investment Group, Inc., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Nicholson recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $100,000.00 on September 12, 2024.

GWG Holdings, Inc. filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 20, 2022. Complaint alleges breach of contract and warranties, violation of state securities statutes, breach of fiduciary duty, claims under common law, and vicarious liability related to an investment in GWG L-Bonds.

Broker Robert Ornelas in Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

March 20, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Robert Ornelas (Ornelas), previously associated with Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one tax lien, alleging that Ornelas recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on September 13, 2024.

Respondent Ornelas failed to respond to FINRA requests for information.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Randall Larson in Firm Great Point Capital LLC

March 20, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that Broker Randall Larson (Larson) 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 Larson was employed by Great Point Capital LLC at the time of the activity. If you have been a victim of Larson’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint on September 12, 2024.

This Wells Notice received from the SEC is in relation to investments from 2018-19. All matters related to this are currently pending. This proposed action would allege direct violations of Sections 15(a)(1) and 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder; aiding and abetting violations of Section 17(a)(1) of the Exchange Act and Rule 17a-4 thereunder; direct and aiding and abetting violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”), and aiding and abetting violations of Section 204 of the Advisers Act and Rule 204-2 thereunder; and direct violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”).

Broker Jeremy Maurer in Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

March 20, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Jeremy Maurer (Maurer), currently associated with Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Maurer recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint on September 13, 2024.

Claimant alleges that around May 2021, the FA recommended an unsuitable investment.

Broker Pragnesh Bhatt in Nylife Securities LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

March 20, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Pragnesh Bhatt (Bhatt), currently associated with Nylife Securities LLC, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Bhatt recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint with a damage request of $615,240.83 on September 16, 2024.

The Customer alleges he was misled when he purchased a variable annuity in June 2021 and that his request to reallocate the subaccounts was not followed. The Customer has requested the return of his investment, fees, and lost opportunity for a total of $615,240.83

Broker Rocio Tapia in Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

March 20, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Rocio Tapia (Tapia), currently associated with Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one tax lien, alleging that Tapia recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on September 16, 2024.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Tapia consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that she solicited and received exam content before taking the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) exam in violation of the CFP Board testing rules. The findings stated that as part of the registration process to take the CFP exam Tapia agreed to abide by the CFP’s Pathway Agreement, which prohibited exam misconduct before. During, and after exam administration. The Pathway Agreement prohibited, among other things, communicating with any other person about the exam during the exam administration period, and attempting to give or receive any assistance related to the exam. On three occasions prior to taking the exam, Tapia solicited and received information regarding exam content from individuals on a group messaging platform who had already taken the exam earlier. The CFP Board’s Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (DEC) found that Tapia’s actions constituted exam misconduct in violation of the Pathway Agreement. The DEC imposed a three-year bar on Tapia from applying for or obtaining the CFP certification and voided her exam results. Later that year. The Appeals Commission of the CFP Board upheld the DEC’s findings and affirmed the sanctions.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Richard Mireles in Firm Independent Financial Group, LLC

March 20, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Richard Mireles (Mireles), currently associated with Independent Financial Group, LLC, has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one regulatory. Several of those complaints against Mireles concern allegations of high frequency trading activity also referred to as churning or excessive trading among other securities laws violations.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on September 13, 2024.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Mireles consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he failed to reasonably respond to red flags, which were escalated to him, of excessive trading by a registered representative who excessively traded customers’ accounts. The findings stated that Mireles supervised his member firm’s lower-level supervisors who reviewed certain of the firm’s trade alerts and blotters, including a ‘high-principal solicited trade’ alert. Numerous trades placed by the registered representative in all of the affected customers’ accounts repeatedly appeared on that alert, which was based on a ruleset whose parameters were designed to flag solicited trades with a high principal amount. The lower-level designated supervisors reviewing trade alerts developed concerns that the registered representative was excessively trading customers’ accounts and brought these concerns to Mireles’s attention. Mireles, however, directed the supervisor to perform only trade-by-trade assessments to review for compliance with Reg BI and suitability, and not to review the series of trades that the registered representative was placing within an account for potential excessive trading. The registered representative excessively traded the customers’ accounts, causing a level of trading inconsistent with the customers’ investment profiles and that was not in their best interest or was not suitable. Collectively, these customers paid more than $2.2 million in total trading costs and incurred realized losses totaling approximately $2.2 million.