FINRA January 2017 Disciplinary Actions
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Richard Gearhart & George McKown Charged With Securities Fraud
Richard Gearhart of Lowell, Indiana and George McKown of Indianapolis, Indiana have been indicted on fraud charges after prosecutors claim they sold securities to investors despite not being registered to do so. The two were charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, and wire fraud, said U.S. Attorney David Capp. [su_spacer size=”10″] According […]
Morgan Stanley Fined $13M By SEC
The SEC announced today that Morgan Stanley agreed to pay a $13 million fine to resolve allegations that it overbilled investment advisory clients due to coding and other billing system errors. Morgan Stanley also violated the custody rule regarding annual surprise examinations. [su_spacer size=”10″] The firm overcharged over 149,000 advisory clients because it failed to […]
Gregory Dean And Donald Fowler Charged By SEC
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John Rafal Barred From Securities Industry
The SEC barred Connecticut investment adviser John Rafal for hiding a referral fee from a client and then attempting to thwart the SEC’s investigation. He was also pay $577,297 in penalties. [su_spacer size=”10″] Rafal, the former president and CEO of Essex Financial Services Inc. in Essex, Connecticut, obtained a new customer with accounts valuing over $100 […]
Ash Narayan Banned For Defrauding Pro Athletes
Former financial adviser Ash Narayan agreed to be barred from associating with brokerage or advisory firms to settle regulators’ allegations that he secretly received nearly $2 million from companies that he invested his professional athlete clients in for at least five years. Narayan additionally placed clients in unsuitable private investments and misrepresented himself as a […]
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 […]
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 […]
Paul Lebel Barred By SEC For Churning
Paul Lebel, a broker formerly with LPL Financial from 2008 to 2014, was barred by the SEC for churning and excessively trading mutual funds in customer accounts and generating excess fees. [su_spacer size=”10″] According to the SEC administrative proceeding, Lebel “defrauded four customers by churning several of their accounts. In particular, Lebel exercised de facto control […]
SEC Hits UDF With Wells Notice
The Frankowski Firm, LLC currently represents multiple investors who have invested in troubled United Development Funding REITs. Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a Wells notice against the Texas company, which indicates that the SEC has made a preliminary determination to potentially recommend an enforcement action against it. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ stock […]