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Wells Fargo Fined $1M For Client Reports

FINRA fined Wells Fargo $1 million for failing to have instituted reasonable supervisory systems to watch advisors' creation of consolidated reports for clients. The fine and settlement referenced two Wells Fargo firms failing to enforce supervisory systems “for the use of consolidated reports generated by their registered representatives through a particular application that the firms made available” to brokers between June 2009 and June 2015. Consolidated reports are documents to clients by brokers that combine account information pertaining to clients' financial holdings, regardless of where those assets are held. The regulator's rules require consolidated reports, which are communications with the public, to be clear, accurate, and not misleading. The firms “failed to review the content of the consolidated reports generated using the application, including customized values for assets and accounts held away from the firms,” according to the settlement. “Further, the firms failed to provide a mechanism allowing their representatives to designate which application reports were actually provided to customers.” The two [...]

By |December 6th, 2016|FINRA, Press Releases & News|
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Dominic Thomas DeBruin Banned By FINRA

FINRA barred LPL Financial broker Dominic Thomas DeBruin for depositing client funds into his personal bank account. The money was "related to potential private securities transaction" that was not disclosed to LPL, a settlement notice issued by FINRA's Department of Enforcement said.In October 2016, FINRA reached out to DeBruin for documents, asking him to show up and give testimony. DeBruin chose not to do so. The two sides settled the matter without DeBruin admitting or denying FINRA's findings.FINRA's BrokerCheck states that Dominic Thomas DeBruin first entered the securities industry in 1996 when he registered with First Hanover Securities Inc. and Continental Broker-Dealer Corp. before switching to Argent Securities in 1997. DeBruin's registration was terminated within four months of employment. However, he claims he resigned before the termination. DeBruin later had short stints with Paragon Capital Corp. and Paulson Investment Co. before registering with Prudential Investment Management Services in 1999, where he remained for five years. Beginning in 2005, DeBruin worked for Waddell & [...]

By |December 2nd, 2016|Broker Check, FINRA, Press Releases & News|
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FINRA Files Complaint Against Dawn Bennett

FINRA filed a complaint against Dawn Bennett for failing to testify in its investigation of possible fraud related to her clothing company. Bennett did not appear for testimony on four different occasions between April and September of this year, violating FINRA's rules, according to FINRA's complaint. The charges come roughly a year after the regulator started looking into her for allegedly engaging in fraud while working at Western International Securities. Last year, Dawn Bennett allegedly solicited her employer's clients in a debt deal that supposedly was guaranteed by her retail clothing business at DJBennett.com. She sold roughly six million dollars worth of promissory and convertible notes to around thirty investors, a substantial number of whom were elderly and included Western's customers, FINRA's complaint states. FINRA discovered that she potentially misappropriated investor funds, committed fraud, and performed undisclosed outside business activities and private securities transactions. Western allowed Bennett to resign November of last year. “Evidence gathered during the investigation reveals that [...]

By |December 2nd, 2016|Broker Check, FINRA, Fraud, Legal Matters, Press Releases & News, SEC|
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Levi David Lindemann Receives 6-Year Sentence For Ponzi Scheme

Levi David Lindemann, a Minnesota investment advisor, received a six-year prison sentence for stealing from clients and operating a Ponzi scheme, according to the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Lindemann was sentenced to 74 months imprisonment by a U.S. District Court, having pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal mail fraud and money-laundering charges. He was the owner and operator of Gershwin Financial Inc., which did business as Alternative Wealth solutions, from 2009 to 2014. “Lindemann abused his position of trust as a financial adviser to steal from his clients, including the elderly,” Mike Rothman, Minnesota's commerce commissioner, said. “Lindemann defrauded his victims by promising to put their money in legitimate, safe investments when he actually used the funds to pay for personal expenses and Ponzi-type payments to other clients to cover up and continue his fraud.” According to Levi David Lindemann's guilty plea, he solicited funds from roughly 50 investors and said he would “use the invested funds to buy secured [...]

By |November 28th, 2016|Broker Check, Fraud, Press Releases & News, SEC|
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