Commonwealth Financial Network Tag Archives

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker John Whalen in Firm Commonwealth Financial Network

March 20, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker John Whalen (Whalen), currently associated with Commonwealth Financial Network, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Whalen 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 $5,000.00 on September 16, 2024.

Customer alleges RR misrepresented two VA policies sold in 2005. Customer alleges RR did not properly disclose policy terms and failed to explain the GMIB.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Kevin O’sullivan in Firm Commonwealth Financial Network

March 19, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Kevin O’sullivan (O’sullivan), currently associated with Commonwealth Financial Network, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that O’sullivan 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 $300,000.00 on September 19, 2024.

Claimant alleges the RR recommended an unsuitable Oil & Gas investment.

Broker Walter Williams in Commonwealth Financial Network Firm Has Customer Complaint

March 18, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Walter Williams (Williams), currently associated with Commonwealth Financial Network, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Williams 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 $75,000.00 on September 20, 2024.

Claimants allege the RR recommended an unsuitable Oil & Gas investment.

Broker Paul Miller in Commonwealth Financial Network Firm Has Customer Complaint

March 11, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Paul Miller (Miller), currently associated with Commonwealth Financial Network, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Miller 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 $107,992.74 on October 15, 2024.

Executor for client’s estate, in hindsight, seeks to hold RR responsible for choices the client made with respect to exercising certain options under an annuity contract.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Stephanie Hayes in Firm Commonwealth Financial Network

March 1, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Stephanie Hayes (Hayes), previously associated with Commonwealth Financial Network, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Hayes 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 $2,009,700.00 on October 31, 2024.

Claimants allege that advisor recommended unsuitable and risky securities in unsuitable concentrations.

Broker Patrick Jordan in Commonwealth Financial Network Firm Has Customer Complaint

February 17, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Patrick Jordan (Jordan), currently associated with Commonwealth Financial Network, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Jordan 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 $30,000.00 on January 02, 2025.

Plaintiff alleges that her brother was their mother’s FA and that he charged excessive fees; executed a low volume of transactions; did not purchase the least expensive share classes; executed some trades that were not suitable; and failed to disclose to Plaintiff the true value of their mother’s accounts. Allegation Activity Dates: 2/11/04 – 12/31/24.

Benjamin Bourgeois Terminated Over Converting Client Funds – Investor Recovery

July 1, 2019 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that advisor Benjamin Bourgeois (Bourgeois) has taken funds from clients and engaged in certain business activities not approved by his brokerage firm. Bourgeois, formerly registered with Commonwealth Financial Network (Commonwealth Financial) out of Metairie, Louisiana has been barred by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for failing to answer questions concerning his conduct. In addition, Bourgeois disclosed at least three customer complaints and one termination for cause.

In May 2019 FINRA found that Bourgeois consented to sanctions and findings that he failed to produce documents and information requested by FINRA during the course of an investigation into allegations reported that he borrowed money from a customer, converted customer funds, and committed fraud.

In April 2019 a customer alleged that Bourgeois engaged in conversion of customer funds made by personal check purportedly for investment purposes; employing devices, schemes or artifices to defraud; making untrue statements of material facts; fraud beginning around 2016. The claim alleged $519,500 in damages and is currently pending.

Bourgeois’ CRD disclosures states that Bourgeois has an outside business activity through which he engages in fixed insurance sales.

Non-Traded REITs Sales Grow As Shown in Second Quarter 2014 Rankings

October 21, 2014 | by Staff Attorney

Since the financial crisis the non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) market has been a financial boon for the brokerage industry. A REIT is a security that invests typically in real estate related assets. Generally, REITs can be publicly or privately held. While publicly held REITs can be sold on an exchange, are liquid, and have lower commissions and fees, non-traded REITs are sold are private, are speculative, illiquid, and often charge fees of over 10%. Nonetheless, non-traded REITs have become a darling product of the financial industry, mostly because of the fat fees brokers earn for recommending these speculative products.

Brokers selling these products sometimes claim that non-traded REITs offer stable returns compared to the volatile stock market. As the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) have recently noted, these products may not be as safe and stabile as advertised.

InvestmentNews recently ranked non listed REITs by second quarter 2014 invested assets. As shown below, investment in these funds are substantial and continues to grow each quarter

Company	2Q invested assets ($M)	Original share price	Current share value	Original distribution rate	Current distribution rate	2Q14 FFO 2 payout ratio
Inland American Real Estate Trust	$10,128.5	$10	$6.94	6.20%	5.00%	75%
Corporate Property Associates 17 Global	$4,564.7	$10	$9.50	6.50%	6.50%	81%
Apple Hospitality	$3,960.0	$11	$10.10	8.00%	7.25%	83%
Industrial Income Trust	$3,747.6	$10	$10.40	6.00%	6.00%	100%
Tier REIT	$3,455.8	$10	$4.20	7.00%	0.00%	N/A
CNL Lifestyle Properties	$3,343.4	$10	$6.85	6.25%	4.25%	108%
Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II	$3,056.2	$10	$10.22	6.50%	6.65%	143%
Monogram Residential Trust	$2,879.1	$10	$10.03	7.00%	3.50%	189%
Cole Credit Property Trust IV	$2,833.0	$10	$10.00	6.25%	6.25%	145%
KBS Real Estate Investment Trust II	$2,714.1	$10	$10.29	6.50%	6.50%	98%
Cole Corporate Income Trust	$2,606.3	$10	$10.00	6.50%	6.50%	94%
Hines Real Estate Investment Trust	$2,422.1	$10	$6.40	6.00%	2.90%	88%
American Realty Capital Trust V	$2,233.5	$25	$25.00	6.60%	6.60%	86%
KBS Real Estate Investment Trust	$2,058.0	$10	$4.45	7.00%	0.00%	N/A
Landmark Apartment Trust	$1,889.4	$10	$8.15	6.00%	3.00%	38%
Phillips Edison – ARC Shopping Center	$1,846.9	$10	$10.00	6.50%	6.70%	129%
Steadfast Income REIT	$1,592.7	$10	$10.24	7.00%	7.00%	165%
Strategic Storage Trust	$731.5	$10	$10.79	7.00%	6.50%	120%
Signature Office	$676.4	$25	$25.00	6.00%	6.00%	83%
Lightstone Value Plus REIT	$643.2	$10	$11.80	7.00%	7.00%	69%

Many brokerage firms have come under fire for their non-traded REIT sales practices. For instance LPL Financial in particular has been accused by several regulators of failing to reign in their broker’s sales practices concerning alternative investments. On March 24, 2014, LPL Financial was fined $950,000 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for failing to supervise its brokers’ marketing of nontraditional investments. LPL Financial was alleged to have deficient supervision in the sale of certain alternative investment products, including REITs, oil and gas partnerships, business development companies (BDC’s), hedge funds, and managed futures.

LPL Financial also paid a $500,000 fine to the Massachusetts Securities Division and was ordered to pay $4.8 million in restitution for supervisory and suitability related violations concerning non-traded REITs. In total six firms paid $11 million in restitution and fines related to REIT sales. The other firms including Ameriprise Financial Inc., Lincoln National, Commonwealth Financial Network, Royal Alliance Associates, and Securities America.

The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are experienced in representing investors to recover their financial losses through the misrepresentation of non-traded REITs. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.

Gana LLP is Investigating LPL Financial broker, Kenneth W. Schulz for Improper Conduct

September 30, 2014 | by Staff Attorney

On September 11, 2014, FINRA, permanently barred Kenneth W. Schulz, a former broker of LPL Financial from associating with any FINRA member. According to the Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent, in June 2013, Kenneth W. Schulz directed a registered assistant to impersonate six of Schulz’s former customers in phone calls to his prior firm requesting that the customers’ accounts be liquidated so that they could invest through Schulz at his new firm Commonwealth Financial network.

Schulz informed each of his customers that their securities holdings could be transferred “in kind” to accounts with Commonwealth. The customers agreed to transfer their securities to Commonwealth and authorized Schulz to initiate the transfers.

After the customers agreed to transfer the securities, Schulz learned that the customers’ securities could not be transferred in kind because the managed funds were proprietary to LPL Financial. Rather than inform his customers that the securities had to be liquidated before their funds could be transferred, Schulz had his assistant pretend to be the customers and had the accounts liquidated without customer consent.

Gana LLP Investigates Broker Angelo Talebi’s Investment Activities: Attention Iranian Investors in California

July 23, 2014 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating claims that broker Angelo Talebi (Talebi) made misrepresentations regarding investments in alternative investments such as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and oil and gas limited partnerships. Upon information and belief, Talebi is targeting Iranian investors in California. According to Talebi’s BrokerCheck, at least 13 customer complaints have been filed regarding Talebi’s sales practices in FINRA arbitration. Some of the complaints also allege that Talebi unsuitably invested clients in various investments including variable annuities and private placements including KBS 1 REIT, Leaf Equipment finance, Inland American Real Estate Trust, Atlas Resources. Another complaint alleges unsuitable equity investments and excessive use of margin.

From 1999 through December 2012, Talebi was associated with LPL Financial LLC (LPL Financial). Thereafter, until April 2014, Talebi was a registered representative of Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. Currently, Talebi is associated with Independent Financial Group, LLC.

The investment products that Talebi is alleged to have inappropriately recommended to clients are part of a growing industry trend of placing investors heavily in alternative investments and illiquid products. Many times brokers tell investors that these products are more stable and predictable than the stock market. After the financial crisis many investors were receptive to these sales pitches. However, brokers sometimes fail to disclose that the stability of these investments is artificially generated by the lack of disclosure and trading market for these products. In the cases of REITs and oil and gas private placements investors may only learn years after investing that the value of these assets has fallen substantially and some investors do not know of their losses until the investment goes completely bust.