+1-888-741-7503

|Richard@frankowskifirm.com

Citigroup Advisory Unit Fined $18.3M

Citigroup will pay $18.3 million to settle charges made by the SEC claiming that it overcharged its investment advisory clients. According to the SEC, Citigroup overbilled about 60,000 advisory clients by about $18 million. The commission also said that Citigroup was not able to find about 83,000 client contracts that were executed from 1990 to 2012 and charged $3.2 million in fees to clients whose contracts Citigroup could not locate. According to its deal with the SEC, the company was censured and will pay $3.2 million in disgorgement, $800,000 in interest, and a penalty of $14.3 million. It will further cease overbilling, create new advisory agreements with those customers whose contracts were lost, and place a link to the SEC's order on its website. “Advisory clients have every expectation that the fees charged by their financial adviser reflect the negotiated rate,” Andrew Calamari, director of the SEC's New York office, stated. “Citigroup failed to take the necessary precautions to ensure [...]

By |January 31st, 2017|Press Releases & News, SEC|
Read More

Michael J. Breton Banned For Cherry Picking Trades

Michael J. Breton, a Massachusetts investment adviser who the SEC accused of securities fraud, has agreed to be banned from the industry after the SEC discovered he was operating an illicit cherry-picking stock scheme. The commission filed suit against Breton and his firm, Strategic Capital Management, in federal district court in Massachusetts. claiming that they bilked customers out of about $1.3 million. Between 2011 and July 2012, Michael J. Breton made trades via a master brokerage account and then allocated profitable trades to himself while putting non-profitable trades into client accounts, according to the SEC. Breton further entered a plea agreement to a charge of securities fraud brought by the Justice Department and to pay a forfeiture of $1.3 million. The U.S. Attorney's Office has agreed to recommend a sentence of no greater than three years in prison. The Justice Department asserts that Breton bought stock in exchange traded companies just prior to their earnings announcements and then allocated the [...]

By |January 26th, 2017|Fraud, Legal Matters, Press Releases & News, SEC|
Read More

FINRA January 2017 Disciplinary Actions

FINRA takes disciplinary actions against firms and individuals for violations of FINRA rules; federal securities laws, rules, and regulations; and the rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. Below are a number of penalties announced by the regulator in January 2017. If you have been a victim of any of the below behavior, you may have legal recourse. Please contact attorney Richard Frankowski today at 888-741-7503 for a free consultation. FINRA censured and fined VFG Securities, Inc. of Culver City, California $50,000, $10,000 of which is joint and several with Jason Bryce Vanclef. According to FINRA, the firm and Vanclef distributed and listed for sale online Vanclef's self-published book, which contained, false, exaggerated, unwarranted, or misleading statements, and omitted material facts or qualifications where the omissions caused the communication to be misleading. The findings also state they provided customers with misleading personalized recommendation spreadsheets. Advisors Clearing Network, Inc. of Pasadena, California was also censured and fined $50,000. FINRA found that it [...]

By |January 24th, 2017|Broker Check, FINRA, Fraud, Legal Matters, Press Releases & News, SEC|
Read More

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. According to court documents, Gearhart and McKown allegedly sold securities to people who transferred their pensions, annuities, 401(k)s and cash to invest with them, through Asset Preservation Specialists Inc. under the guarantee that their investments would remain safe. Neither Richard Gearhart nor George McKown was registered to sell securities with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or the state of Indiana. Secretary of State Connie Lawson said in a news release that no matter how trustworthy someone seems, potential investors should ensure that person and the person's businesses are registered with the state of Indiana. "Gearhart had all the warning signs of a typical [...]

By |January 16th, 2017|Fraud, Press Releases & News, SEC|
Read More

Fill Out The Form To Receive A Free Confidential Consultation

Consultation

The recoveries, verdicts, favorable outcomes, and testimonials described on this site are not an indication of future results. Every case is different, and regardless of what friends, family, or other individuals may say about what a case is worth, each case must be evaluated on its own facts and circumstances as they apply to the law. The valuation of a case depends on facts, the damages, the jurisdiction, the venue, the witnesses, the parties, and the testimony, among many other factors. No representation is made that the quality of the legal services performed is greater than the quality of the legal services performed by other lawyers.

Disclaimer: Mr. Frankowski is licensed in Alabama,Florida and Texas. He is not licensed in any other state including Nevada and California. Mr. Frankowski has represented investors from all over the country in securities cases including: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas.