Broker Accused Of Pump-And-Dump Scheme
Guy Gentile of Putnam Valley, New York allegedly ran a $17 million pump-and-dump stock scheme. Gentile faces federal counts of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. He was indicted late last month, according to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman. The SEC filed a civil suit against Gentile late last month, as well. [su_spacer size=”10″]Gentile’s […]
Investors File Churning Complaints Against John Prinzivalli
According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, broker John Prinzivalli has been the subject of two churning complaints since 2010. Other complaints against Prinzivalli have alleged a number of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments and breached his fiduciary duty. [su_spacer size=”10″]One complaint filed in October 2014 alleges $130,000 in damages due to unsuitable recommendations, […]
Investors File Complaints Against James Hayne
The Frankowski Firm is investigating complaints regarding Texas-based Cetera Advisors broker James Hayne (CRD# 3257845). He has spent sixteen years in the securities industry and has been registered with Cetera Advisors in Mansfield, Texas since 2014. Previous registrations include Questar Capital Corporation in Glendora, California (2013-2014); First Allied Securities in Glendora, California (2008-2013); Edward Jones in Pomona, […]
Advisor Accused Of Operating $53M Ponzi Scheme
John Bivona, an unregistered advisor from New Jersey, has been accused of operating a massive Ponzi scheme by the SEC. Bivona allegedly raised over $53 million from investors, whom he told he would put the money in pre-IPO technology companies. Rather, he used the funds to pay his nephew’s credit card bills, income taxes, a […]
Kansas Man Sentenced For Securities Fraud
Dennis D. Bailey of Bel Aire, Kansas has been sentenced to five years in prison for securities fraud. In addition to his 61 month prison sentence, Bailey was ordered to pay $875,000 in restitution. The former financial adviser had previously pleaded guilty to one count of felony securities fraud under the Kansas Uniform Securities Act. […]
FINRA Panel Orders UBS To Pay For Bond Losses
A FINRA arbitration panel ordered UBS Group AG’s wealth management business for the Americas to pay over $470,000 to three investors who claimed damages because their accounts were over-concentrated in Puerto Rico bonds that plummeted. The investors–Obdulio Melendez Ramos, Ramon Velez Garcia and Carlos L. Merced–filed the arbitration in 2014 and sought up to $570,243 […]
BD Owner Indicted In Pump-And-Dump Scheme
Guy Gentile, the owner of a New York broker-dealer, has been charged with fraudulently inflating the price of two micro-cap stocks before selling them to investors, creating $17.2 million in gross trading proceeds. Gentile was indicted in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, where a pair of stock promoters from Canada pleaded guilty last year […]
TX Bars Adviser For Fraudulent Sales
James Poe, a Forth Worth, Texas-based adviser and president of Jim Poe & Associates, Inc. has been barred by Texas state securities regulators from acting as an investment adviser representative and broker in the state for fraudulent practices pertaining to the sale of life settlements. [su_spacer size=”10″]Poe got undisclosed payments from another firm he owned, […]
NJ Financial Advisor Pleads Guilty To Fraud
An ex-JPMorgan Chase financial advisor from Livingston, New Jersey pleaded guilty to embezzlement and securities fraud in connection to a $22 million investment fraud that lasted seven years. Prosecutors have called the scheme an elaborate “game of hide and seek.” [su_spacer size=”10″]Michael Oppenheim confessed that he lied to his customers by telling them he would […]
Former Broker Sentenced For Fraud & Tax Evasion
Jeffrey Eldred Gallagher of Bradenton Beach, Florida was sentenced in Springfield, Massachusetts for an investment scheme that defrauded victims out of over $600,000 from 2008 to 2012. According to U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, Gallagher was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to three years in prison. Gallagher was convicted in December 2015 […]