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Broker To Pay $331k For Unsuitable Investments

A FINRA Arbitration panel ordered Frederick Baerenz, president and CEO of AOG Wealth Management, to pay $331,000 in compensatory damages after finding him liable of unsuitable trading. Baerenz allegedly misled his investors, Barbara and Roger Bond, regarding the risks of their direct private placements while investing in them between 2006 and 2008. Of the $1.3 million that was invested, Baerenz placed roughly $941,000 in private placements, according to Todd Zuckerbrod, the couple's attorney. “Even though the clients had signed a form saying that they know they are getting a high-risk investment, the panel thought it did not insulate the broker that they were unsuitable investments and he shouldn't have done that,” Zuckerbrod said. Baerenz disagreed: "While we believe that there should have been no award, we are gratified that the panel rejected two-thirds of their damage claims,” he said. The Claimants asked for about $1 million in damages but were awarded $331,000, and any other relief including punitive damages was [...]

By |July 14th, 2016|Press Releases & News, Broker Check, FINRA|
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Winston Wade Turner Banned from Securities Industry by FINRA for ‘Unethical and Dishonest Actions

FINRA banned Winston Wade Turner, a former Prudential Financial Inc. and MetLife Inc. broker, from the securities industry for making unsuitable variable annuity recommendations. Turner misled clients by misrepresenting and omitting material facts about the sales, according to the regulatory authority. Additionally, Turner hid that he convinced a number of clients to surrender existing variable annuities and, in a few instances, to sell other investments to fund their purchases of new variable annuities he was recommending, FINRA says. FINRA also says that exchanging annuities necessitates heightened supervisory scrutiny because of their relatively high commissions and costs. Pruco Securities Inc., a brokerage subsidiary of Prudential, terminated Turner's employment in August of last year due to the misleading sales practices. "Turner's unethical and dishonest actions, and his willingness to take unfair advantage of customers who placed their trust in him, demonstrate that he is unfit to remain in the securities industry,” according to FINRA's statement. In November 2012, Turner had a client [...]

By |July 13th, 2016|FINRA, Press Releases & News|
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Dawn Bennett Barred From Securities Industry

The SEC barred Dawn Bennett from the securities industry for inflating her firm's assets under management and investment performance to bring in more business from well-to-do clients. The commission also ordered her and her firm, Bennett Group, to pay over $4 million in fines and disgorgement. The ruling was handed down by Administrative Law Judge James Grimes, who also ordered Bennett and her firm to pay civil penalties of $600,000 and $2.9 million respectively. The ruling comes after a January hearing at which Bennett, in an unusual legal strategy, chose not to appear. Both the hearing and Judge Grimes' ruling centered on Bennett's pattern of promoting inflated assets as a way to gain high rankings of Barron's lists of top advisors, and then using those rankings to solicit new clients for her advisory business, which is no longer working with clients. Between 2009 and 2011, at least, Dawn Bennett and Bennett Group purported to manage between $1.1 billion and [...]

By |July 12th, 2016|Press Releases & News, SEC|
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AL Man Charged With $1.5M Securities Fraud Involving Church

Terry Earl Hester of Pike County, Alabama was charged with violating the Alabama Securities Act after allegedly making false promises to a Tuscaloosa County church involving $1.5 million in funds. Hester turned himself into authorities on June 15. The charges are the result of a six-count indictment by a Tuscaloosa County grand jury, according to a statement made by the District Attorney's office and Joseph Borg, Director of the Alabama Securities Commission. The indictment charges Hester with one count of Sale of Unregistered Securities and one count of Sale of Securities by an Unregistered Agent. Each charge carries a fine of up to $15,000 upon conviction. Additionally, Hester is charged with four counts of Fraud in Connection with the Sale of Securities for making untrue statements or, or omitting to state, material facts to an investor; for engaging in an act, practice or course of business which operates as a fraud or deceit upon an investor; and for employing [...]

By |July 11th, 2016|Fraud, Press Releases & News|
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