Legal Matters

Frankowski Firm attorney Robert Norton has been recognized by the American Trial Academy as a Top Tier Lawyer for 2020. The Top Tier Lawyer designation is an invitation-only recognition extended to only 2% of attorneys in the United States each year. The American Trial Academy reviews criteria to select attorneys who exemplify superior qualifications, results, and leadership. The selection process is administered by a group of legal and non-legal professionals over multiple rounds of inquiry and discussion with consideration from clients, judges, and fellow practitioners. Rob graduated magna cum laude from the University of Alabama in 2002, with honors as a Presidential Scholar and Phi Beta Kappa induction. Rob worked as a policy intern at the White House during the summer of 2001. Rob received his Juris Doctor degree from The University of Alabama School of Law in 2007, with recognition as the most outstanding student in Negotiations. Rob is licensed to practice in Alabama, Georgia, and before the 11th [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged West Virginia-based registered representative Phillip Conley with securities fraud. According to the SEC charges, Mr. Conley made fraudulent securities offerings raising $5.2 million from at least 20 investors. According to the allegations, between January 2014 and September 2018, Conley convinced investors, including pastors and church congregants, to invest in one or more of the entities he controlled while knowing the investments were not legitimate. The alleged fraudulent investments included limited partnership investments in ventures including university housing construction, high-yield fixed income securities, oil and gas investments, mineral rights leases, and timber management. According to the allegations, Conley also provided investors with phony account statements, knowing that the balances and gains on the statements were false. The SEC claims that Conley used the investor funds for his personal benefit, funding a lavish lifestyle including private jet rentals, luxury dining and entertainment, and making payments to earlier investors in Ponzi scheme fashion. Conley’s FINRA BrokerCheck [...]

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has issued an alert cautioning small business owners who apply for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to guard themselves against predatory and fraudulent tactics from bad actors looking to take advantage of vulnerable borrowers. According to the alert, these bad actors are actively seeking to lure small business owners to apply for the wrong program via false claims of affiliation with the Small Business Administration. One such alleged bad actor, Ponte Investments LLC, promoted an “SBA Loan Program” via a website, e-mail, and cold-call marketing campaign, falsely claiming to be a representative of the SBA working with the business’s bank and urging the business owner to apply for a PPP loan right away. The Frankowski Firm likewise urges borrowers to be on the lookout for banks who negligently manage customer applications or give preferential treatment to certain businesses. The FTC issued the following tips: If you get an email that looks like it’s from the [...]

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred former First Standard Financial, LLC representative Michael Leahy of Red Bank, New Jersey, based on FINRA’s findings that Leahy was aware of red flags of his subordinate broker’s misconduct, but failed to investigate or take any action to curtail the misconduct. FINRA found that from September 18, 2018 through October 8, 2019, Leahy’s First Standard subordinate engaged in a pattern of unauthorized trading, unauthorized use of margin, excessive and unsuitable trading, and excessive commission charges. Leahy was the sole principal at the firm and the only individual responsible for supervising the broker. FINRA found that Leahy was aware of “multiple red flags” of the broker’s misconduct, including daily trade blotters showing frequent in-and-out trading and commissions exceeding 5%, numerous customer complaints of unauthorized trading, unauthorized use of margin, and excessive commissions, and notification from First Standard’s clearing firm of potential unauthorized trading. FINRA found Leahy failed to investigate the red flags or [...]