Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog

Bank accused of misleading investors in proprietary alternative investments A settlement has been reached in a class action against Citigroup, Inc. resulting in a $13.5 million payout by the banking giant. According to Law360, papers filed August 10, 2015 indicate Citigroup allegedly misled investors by allowing them to buy into…

Broker faces $25,000 fine and 9 month suspension for excessive trading As a broker in the securities industry for over 29 years, Douglas J. Dannhardt recently settled a FINRA disciplinary action relating to allegations of excessive trading in a customer’s account. According to the FINRA BrokerCheck website, Dannhardt’s first disclosure…

Firm Fined and Censured for Failure to Report Required Information According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck website, Liberty Partners Financial Services, LLC of Bakersfield, California, put itself in the FINRA spotlight by failing to properly follow its own written supervisory procedures regarding Order Audit Trail System (OATS) reporting. Without admitting or denying…

Newbridge securities advisor allegedly has conflict of interest between software company and his clients According to FINRA, Lawrence Michael LaBine is the subject of a disciplinary action pending against him after an alleged conflict of interest leading to several customer disputes. In his 29 years in the securities industry, LaBine…

Williamson Accused of Spending Investors’ Money on Personal Expenses These individuals dedicated their lives to improving the lives of others. Some spent their days teaching in the school system. Some spent their days and nights making neighborhoods safer for the community. And they all believed that when they retired, their…

Each faces a one-year suspension for alleged unregistered sale of penny stocks On Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced settlements in the cases of three Oppenheimer & Co. employees in Boca Raton, Florida. Scott A. Eisler, Arthur M. Lewis and Robert Okin allegedly were involved in the unregistered sale…

Investigation focuses on one UBS financial adviser in particular In a securities filing on July 28, 2015, the Swiss banking giant UBS AG reported that federal authorities are investigating one of its financial advisers and some of its customers for allegedly violating loan agreements and bank policies in Puerto Rico.…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had announced it has charged two individuals and eight companies with fraud in relation to company securities and what was described as “charitable gift annuities.” The complaint was filed in the U.S. district court in Syracuse, New York. Allegations of Investment Fraud One of…

Hedge fund firm owners agree to $5 million combined settlement On June 1, 2015 the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Greenwich, Connecticut-based AlphaBridge Capital Management and its two owners with fraudulently inflating the prices of securities in funds they managed. These inflated valuations caused the funds to pay higher management…

Disciplinary action pending against Wilton Manors, FL financial advisor Giovanni Acevedo could be facing disciplinary action from FINRA after a complaint that he allegedly converted more than $160,000 in customer funds. According to the report, he allegedly told a customer he would invest a $68,000 check she wrote to the…