The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has announced a fine of $4 million and required an additional $2 million in restitutionary damages from Fifth Third Securities, Inc. for its failures to consider and accurately describe the costs and benefits of variable annuity exchanges, and for recommending variable annuity exchanges without a reasonable basis to believe [...]
FINRA has accused a former MetLife Securities Inc. and Pruco Securities Inc. broker, Winston Wade Turner, of harmful and deceptive variable annuity sales practices. According to FINRA's complaint, Turner allegedly "engaged in a course of deception and other misconduct in connection with sales and exchanges of variable annuities involving numerous customers." Turner also allegedly induced [...]
Thomas A. Guerriero of Hillsboro Beach, Florida pleaded guilty to running a $6.6 million telemarketing and investment fraud conspiracy. Guerriero was formerly the director of the Oxford City Football Club, a minor league soccer team based in the university town northwest of London, England. He resigned just before he was indicted on federal charges in December. [...]
Six investment adviser violations make up roughly 60% of all deficiencies the SEC's staff find when they investigate adviser offices, according to Renee Esfandiary, assistant director of the SEC's Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations. The investment adviser violations include: Compliance Rule Violations include not have written policies and procedures to ensure firm operations adhere to [...]
Robert O'Keef, formerly a registered representative with RBC Capital Markets, LLC, submitted a letter of acceptance, waiver, and consent (AWC). O'Keef was registered as a General Securities Representative and General Securities Sales Supervisor with RBC from May 2006 to April 2014. He is currently not associated with any FINRA-registered firm. According to his letter of [...]
According to the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA), FINRA is failing to help investors collect arbitration awards for damages from the brokers. Seventy-five FINRA arbitration awards, about a third of the 2013 total, are unpaid according to a report released by PIABA. That is $62 million in award money or about 25% of the [...]
FINRA barred broker George Johnson from the securities industry for operating a manipulative trading scheme to artificially inflate the market price and trading volume for the common stock of IceWEB, Inc. FINRA additionally sanctioned Christoper Wynne, Johnson's supervisor, suspending him for two years in all capacities, barring him in a principal capacity, and fining him [...]
Management of real estate investment trust United Development Funding IV, a hedge fund accused of operating as a Ponzi scheme, has been subpoenaed to turn over company documents to a grand jury. Last week, the FBI raided the REIT's offices outside of Dallas. While performing their search, “law enforcement officers served executive officers of the trust [...]
The FBI raided the office of a Texas REIT, United Development Funding IV, this week. The firm saw its stock price drop 81% in the past two months after a hedge fund alleged it was operating for years like a Ponzi scheme. “The FBI is lawfully present and conducting law enforcement activity” at the UDF [...]
The Frankowski Firm is investigating complaints regarding and the termination of former Questar Capital Corporation advisor Kevin Wanner. The complaints allege that The North Dakota Securities Department issued a cease and desist order claiming that Wanner sold time certificate of deposit securities purporting to represent an investment in an FDIC insured interest bearing account and further misrepresented [...]
FINRA recently filed an amended complaint against Craig Scott Capital, LLC and its co-founders, Craig Scott Taddonio and Brent Morgan Porges, alleging, among other things, excessive trading, churning, failure to supervise. Churning and Excessive Trading According to the complaint, Respondents churned and excessively traded Craig Scott Capital customer accounts. They encouraged their sales team to [...]
FINRA has barred two Buffalo, New York advisers, Timothy S. Dembskyi and Walter F. Grenda, from the securities industry for broker fraud in relation to the sale of a hedge fund, the Prestige Wealth Management Fund, LP. Dembski and Grenda's misconduct occurred while they were employed with Mid Atlantic Capital Corporation. FINRA discovered that Dembski [...]
