Craig David Dima Barred By FINRA

Craig David Dima, an ex-registered representative with K.C. Ward Financial in Ronkonkoma, New York, was barred from the securities industry by FINRA for making unauthorized and unsuitable trades amounting to roughly $15 million in a seventy-three (73) year old retiree's account, as well as for misrepresenting the reasons for all the trades to the customer. [su_spacer size="10"] FINRA found that on eleven different occasions, Dima sold nearly all of the client's Colgate-Palmolive stock, which he had acquired after twenty-eight (28) years of working for the company, without the customer's permission. FINRA discovered that Craig David Dima sold the stock even after the client instructed him not to, which the client considered a valuable long-term investment and reliable source of dividends. When the client asked Dima about the sales, Dima stated they were caused by a "computer glitch" or a technical error. [su_spacer size="10"] Related to Dima's unauthorized sales and later repurchases of Colgate stock, Dima charged the client over $375,000 [...]

Hamilton Ticket Resale Ponzi Scheme Investor Sues

Adam Blank, an investor in the alleged $81 million Ponzi scheme pertaining to the buying and selling of tickets to popular shows, including Adele concerts and Broadway's Hamilton, sued his broker-dealer, alleging the firm made several false and misleading statements about its due diligence and investigation into the ticket operation. [su_spacer size="10"] The suit was filed in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Tripoint Global Equities, related companies and executives. Blank invested $1.5 million in the alleged scheme. The complaint states that Blank met Mark Elenowitz, Tripoint Global's CEO, in January of last year at a restaurant in Long Island to alk about the possibility to build a professional relationship, which included Tripoint Global assisting Blank in finding investment opportunities and giving financial advice and other services. [su_spacer size="10"] After the first meeting and later phone discussions, in which Blank noted how important it was that investments be completely vetted, Elenowitz advised and suggested that “the [...]

SEC: Meyers Associates, L.P. Ignored Pump-And-Dump Scheme

The SEC announced administrative proceedings against John D. Telfer, who worked for Meyers Associates, L.P. as the firm's former anti-money laundering officer. The commission alleges that the firm failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports for $24.8 million worth of suspect transactions, which includes transactions in accounts controlled by Raymond H. Barton and William G. Goode who the SEC charged individually with operating a pump-and-dump scheme. [su_spacer size="10"] In pump-and-dump schemes, people holdings stock try to inflate the price of that stock, many times via false or misleading statements or other announcements. After investors hurry to purchase the stock because on this misinformation, the operators of the scheme dump the stock. This causes the stock’s price to drop, and investors who bought the stock during the rush end up losing money. [su_spacer size="10"] The SEC claims that Telfer and his firm should have been aware of the suspect circumstances underlying a number of transactions within client accounts. The commission further claims clients, such as Barton [...]

Dwayne Edwards Accused Of Fraud By SEC

The SEC charged Dwayne Edwards with fraud and obtained an emergency asset freeze against the South Carolina businessman. The SEC alleges that he funneled money he obtained from investors who believed their money would be used for buying and renovating senior housing facilities. According to the commission, Dwayne Edwards illicitly commingled funds from a number of municipal bond offerings and the revenues of the facilities underlying the offerings. Each offering was purported to fund a specific assisted living or memory care facility in Alabama or Georgia. Edwards used investor funds for his own private use in addition to funding other unrelated bond offerings, according to the SEC. The complaint accuses Edwards of violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. [su_spacer size="10"] The complaint was filed in Newark, New Jersey federal district court. The court granted the SEC's request to freeze the assets of Edwards. The court also appointed a temporary receiver [...]