FINRA Suspends Former LPL Broker

FINRA has suspended former LPL Financial broker and supervisor Peter Neuberg for six months and has fined him $15,000 after failing to reasonably supervise a registered representative, according to the regulatory agency. Neuberg ceased regularly reviewing paperwork prepared by the representative, who altered documents pertaining to customer accounts, including reusing signatures from previously completed forms, FINRA says.Neuberg agreed to the suspension and fine without admitting or denying the findings.The supervisory failures occurred between September 2011 and June 2012, according to FINRA. Neuberg was registered with LPL in Parsippany, New Jersey from November 2000 to September 2012 before registering at BCG Securities, Inc., according to FINRA's BrokerCheck.LPL terminated him because of the allegations that he violated the firm's signature policy.The representative Neuberg was supposed to be supervising falsified documents to expedite transactions to accommodate customers, FINRA says. He failed to make a reasonable inquiry or conduct a review of the files she handled, even after she asked whether she was allowed [...]

Philadelphia Broker Pleads Guilty To Fraud

William Bucci, a former stockbroker from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to securities fraud and related charges for thieving around $3 million from investors for an import business that never existed and other ventures. According to prosecutors, Bucci told investors that he would import high-end olive oil and wine from Italy. He further convinced his clientele to loan him money for a Jersey Shore home. Prosecutors said he used most of the money on personal expenses. Bucci, who lived in Philadelphia but worked in the suburbs, paid back some early investors partially with money he received from later investors in classic Ponzi fashion. Currently, the exact amount of his fraud is unknown. Bucci has posted bail and will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joel Slomsky on Novemeber 17, 2016. Bucci's plea memorandum states that he solicited brokerage clients, former schoolmates, friends, and relatives to provide him with cash from 2004 to 2011 with the promise that he would repay them [...]

Wells Fargo Broker Banned By FINRA

Former Wells Fargo broker John Christopher Pierce agreed to be barred from working with any firm registered with FINRA after he allegedly stole from his clients' bank accounts. At the time of the alleged misconduct, Pierce was both a registered broker-dealer with Wells Fargo as well as a personal banker at a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Pennsylvania, according to a letter accepted by FINRA. The scheme allegedly began at the beginning of March when he issued an instant debit card with a daily withdrawal limit of $1,500 under the name of a Wells Fargo Bank customer. Pierce then used the card to make two unauthorized ATM withdrawals totaling $1,380 for his personal use. After a complaint was made with the bank, Pierce replenished the account with funds from another customer without consent. Pierce was registered with Wells Fargo Advisors in January 2014 and was terminated this past March. He agreed to be barred from associating with any FINRA [...]

Alabama Man Sentenced For Securities Fraud

Keith Michael Rogers of Huntsville, Alabama was sentenced by Madison County Circuit Court Judge Alison Austin to three years in prison for securities fraud. He received a ten year split sentence and will serve three years and has seven suspended. Judge Austin also ordered Rogers to pay $1.7 million in restitution. The sentencing follows Rogers' guilty plea in March in which he admitted to using his clients' investment money in a Ponzi scheme. The plea included one count of securities fraud. According to authorities, Rogers took more than $2.5 million from his investors and was using the money for his personal expenses and using funds from new clients to pay back earlier clients in classic Ponzi fashion. According to Madison County Assistant District Attorney Jay Town, Rogers' clients included former University of Alabama running back Kenneth Darby. According to FINRA's BrokerCheck, Rogers has been permanently barred from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to [...]