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FINRA Bars Florida Broker Who Used Foundation’s Money

FINRA permanently barred Stuart Siegel, a Florida broker who worked for Morgan Stanley and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., from the securities industry after he used money from a foundation he headed to fund personal expenses. Siegel, who most recently worked at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. in Sarasota, Florida, neither admitted nor denied FINRA's allegations but agreed to the ban in a settlement with the regulatory agency. Before working for Oppenheimer, Siegel worked in Venice, Florida for Morgan Stanley, who fired him in 2012 for "concerns regarding dealings with a private foundations." The private foundation at the center of the case was established to promote Jewish charitable causes. However, FINRA never identified by name either the foundation or Siegel's client whose estate established the foundation. Siegel became president of the foundation in 1984. At the time, Morgan Stanley allowed Siegel to act as president of the foundation but forbade him from receiving compensation from the foundation or to serve as its [...]

By |June 19th, 2014|Legal Matters, Press Releases & News|
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Retirees Suffer As Rollover Boom Enriches Brokers

Thirty-seven former clients have filed complaints against Kathleen Tarr, a broker who worked for Royal Alliance Associates, after encouraging hundreds of departing AT&T employees to roll over their retirement money into the type of risky high-commission investments that FINRA warns about. These complaints, together with similar complaints against other brokers, underscore a massive rollover boom in the U.S. Former employees shifted $321 billion from 401(k)-style plans to IRAs in 2012, an increase of approximately 60% in one decade. While generally retirees can leave their savings in 401(k) plans, financial firms lure them in with cold calls, Internet advertisements, storefront signs, and cash incentives to switch to IRAs, lauding the advantage of the IRA's expansive variety of investment choices over those of 401(k) plans. However, IRAs are associated with expensive and high-risk investments, and they often charge higher fees than those associated with 401(k) plans, providing brokers an incentive to promote rollovers. Given this incentive for brokers to promote rollovers, federal [...]

By |June 18th, 2014|Press Releases & News|
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Second Circuit Holds Mandatory Broker Dealer Arbitration Not Available To Non-Customer

Last month, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a summary order in SunTrust Banks, Inc. et al. v. Turnberry Capital Management LP, 13-CV-2075 (2d Cir., May 15, 2014), which was a case regarding the circumstances in which a broker dealer may be compelled to arbitrate with an institutional counter-party which is not a traditional customer of the broker-dealer. As of recent years, arbitration has seemingly grown to be more claimant friendly, making arbitration a less-hospitable environment for defendants as compared to traditional courtrooms. It was in this context that Turnberry arose. Turnberry is a hedge fund that began a FINRA arbitration against its point-of-sale broker dealer, Raymond James, regarding the purchase of trust certificates collateralized by cash flows from a pool of residential mortgage loans. FINRA rules generally compel broker dealers to arbitrate disputes with their customers. With regard to Raymond James, this was not an issue. The issue arose in that in addition to naming [...]

By |June 6th, 2014|Press Releases & News|
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FINRA Issues $1 Million Dollar Fines For Inaccurate Blue Sheet Data

FINRA announced today that is has fined Barclays Capital Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co., and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. $1 million each for failing to provide complete and accurate information about trades performed by the firms and their customers, called "blue sheet data," to FINRA, the SEC, and other regulators. Federal securities laws and FINRA rules require firms to provide blue sheet data to FINRA and other regulators upon request. These blue sheets provide regulators with detailed information about trades performed by a firm and its customers. Regulators in turn use that information to discover trading anomalies and examine possible insider trading and other market manipulations. FINRA discovered that the blue sheet data provided by these firms did not include some customer names and contact information, failed to include some transactions entirely, contained incorrect name and contact information for some customers, or contained inaccurate details of transactions. Apparently, these violations were the product of the firms' electronic [...]

By |June 4th, 2014|Press Releases & News|
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