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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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Alabama Man Sentenced For Securities Fraud

Keith Michael Rogers of Huntsville, Alabama was sentenced by Madison County Circuit Court Judge Alison Austin to three years in prison for securities fraud. He received a ten year split sentence and will serve three years and has seven suspended. Judge Austin also ordered Rogers to pay $1.7 million in restitution. The sentencing follows Rogers' guilty plea in March in which he admitted to using his clients' investment money in a Ponzi scheme. The plea included one count of securities fraud. According to authorities, Rogers took more than $2.5 million from his investors and was using the money for his personal expenses and using funds from new clients to pay back earlier clients in classic Ponzi fashion. According to Madison County Assistant District Attorney Jay Town, Rogers' clients included former University of Alabama running back Kenneth Darby. According to FINRA's BrokerCheck, Rogers has been permanently barred from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to [...]

By |May 27th, 2016|Broker Check, FINRA, Fraud, Press Releases & News|
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NBA/NFL Players Win $819k FINRA Award

Two former professional athletes, one from the National Basketball Association (NBA) and one from the National Football League (NFL), won an $819,000 arbitration award against Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in a case that revolved around the broker-dealer's negligent supervision of a former broker. The arbitration was brought by Keyon Dooling, who played guard in the NBA for twelve years, and John St. Clair, who played offensive tackle in the NFL for eleven years, against their former broker Aaron Parthemer, who was barred from the securities industry in 2015 by FINRA according to his BrokerCheck report. Dooling and St. Clair both invested in Global Village Concerns, a sportswear company. Dooling additionally invested in Club Play, a Miami Beach nightclub. Both investments, however, became worthless. “These guys worked incredibly hard for their money, and it is gratifying that the arbitrators found Morgan Stanley liable for failing to properly supervise its financial adviser,” said the athletes' attorney in a statement. “Too often, professional [...]

By |May 24th, 2016|Broker Check, FINRA, Press Releases & News|
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Complaints Against Merrill Lynch Broker For Unsuitable Recommendations

According to FINRA's BrokerCheck, Merrill Lynch broker Heather Weber has been the subject of at least seven customer complaints. The complaints claim that Weber violated securities laws, including soliciting unsuitable investments and making misrepresentations of materials facts. In January 2016 a customer filed a complaint alleging $200,000 in damage stemming from unsuitable investment recommendations from 2012 through 2016.  The complaint is pending. In September 2015, another customer filed a complaint alleging unsuitable investments causing $475,000 in losses from investments made from 2012 through July 2014.  This claim is pending as well. In October 2014, a customer alleged that Weber recommended unsuitable investments and made misrepresentations and omissions of material facts from March 2006 to September 2014. The claimant requested $1,500,000 in damages, and the complaint is pending. In January 2014, a customer alleged that Weber recommended unsuitable investments and made misrepresentations and omissions of material facts. The claimant requested $500,000 in damages. The case was settled [...]

By |April 28th, 2016|Press Releases & News, Broker Check, FINRA|
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