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According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for March 2015, the following individuals were suspended from FINRA and cannot currently work for a FINRA brokerage firm for failing to provide FINRA with information it requested or to keep information current with FINRA pursuant to FINRA rules:

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases.  Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct.  If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for March 2015, the following individuals were barred from FINRA and cannot currently work for a FINRA brokerage firm for failing to provide FINRA with information it requested or to keep information current with FINRA pursuant to FINRA rules:

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases.  Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct.  If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.

Recently, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that three class action lawsuits against Seadrill Ltd. will be consolidated. Seadrill is an offshore drilling contractor based in Bermuda. The lawsuits arose after the company announced a suspension of its annual $4-per-share dividend in November, which caused an immediate and significant drop in its share value.

Rule 10b-5 Violations

The plaintiffs claim the company violated Rule 10b-5, which makes it unlawful “to employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud, to make any untrue statements of a material fact or to omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or to engage in any act, practice or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person, in connection with the purchase or sale of a security.”

Oppenheimer and Co. is an investment bank and full-service investment firm offering financial advisory services, capital market services, wealth management, investment banking, and related products and services worldwide.  In late January, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Oppenheimer and Co. with violating federal securities laws by improperly selling penny stocks in unregistered offerings on behalf of customers.

Penny Stocks 101

“Penny stocks” are common shares of small public companies that trade at comparatively low prices per share.  More specifically, the SEC defines a penny stock as a “security that trades below $5.00 per share, is not listed on a national exchange, and fails to meet other specific criteria.”

SunTrust Investment Services, Inc. submitted an AWC in which the firm was censured and fined $80,000. SunTrust consented to the sanctions, without admitting liability, and to the entry of findings that it failed to establish a supervisory system reasonably designed to monitor the proper assessment of fees charged to certain investment advisory customers. The findings stated that the firm overcharged investment advisory fees to customers enrolled in one of the firm’s investment advisory programs. These overcharges resulted from the installation of new fee-engine software by the firm’s clearing firm that, without the firm’s knowledge, failed to correctly bundle certain asset classes for the purpose of calculating breakpoint discounts for fees. The firm failed to discover the investment advisory fee overcharges for a period of approximately two-and-a-half years. The firm also failed to conduct adequate periodic reviews to ensure that the proper fees were assessed for certain investment advisory accounts. (FINRA Case #2011029668001)

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases.  Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct.  If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.

Dialing for dollars has always been a popular method for young stockbrokers to solicit new customers.  Although cold calling has been dramatized in movies such as Glen Gary Glenn Ross and the Wolf of Wall Street, it still apparently also serves major global financial institutions as a successful marketing tool.  Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay $400,000 for  telemarketing compliance violations to the N.H. Bureau of Securities Regulation which alleges Merrill Lynch failed to ‘fully understand’ how to comply with telemarketing rules and cold calls were made to potential clients on the do-not-call lists.  Cold call violations have recently re-appeared on regulators radar screen after Edward Jones & Co agreed to pay $750,000 to settle similar charges.  As part of the settlement, Merrill Lynch agreed to enhance its telemarketing policies and procedures.  However, Merrill Lynch apparently recognizes this time honored method of chasing potential clients and will continue to use it as part of its sales techniques.

Regulators including the SEC and FINRA have issued investor bulletins warning investors to be dubious of cold calling financial advisors.  Investors should investigate any advisor prior to sending money to someone they met over the phone.  Amongst other due diligence techniques, investors can use FINRA’s BrokerCheck system to get basic background information about a financial advisor including employment history and potentially other customer complaints.

If you invested money based upon a telephone call, you may be entitled to recover some of you investment losses. Our law firm has represented many investors who ultimately regretted taking a cold call because the brokerage firm churned their account or otherwise invested in unsuitable products. Please call our securities law firm toll free at (800) 975-4345 to speak to an attorney to find out how we may be able to help you recover some of your investment losses.

Boca Raton, Florida – October 23, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)

Silver Law Group (www.silverlaw.com) is pursing claims against multiple Bitcoin exchanges for allegedly buying and selling cryptocurrencies using false and misleading claims of easy profits, high returns, and little risk.  While The Wall Street Journal recently proclaimed that it was time “for some investors – those with stomachs for volatility – [to take] a closer look at cryptocurrencies,” other investors who have already taken a look have seen an entire life’s savings lost.

With the rapid rise and fall of Bitcoin prices (Bitcoin peaked at $1,150 last year and fell to $286 this month), Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are drawing increasing interest as potential alternative investments.  According to CoinDesk, there will be eight million Bitcoin trading accounts and over 100,000 companies accepting Bitcoin by the end of 2014.  Despite new regulatory challenges and the struggles of some Bitcoin-related sites, the New York Times has reported that more than $250 million has been invested in Bitcoin companies, most of that in the last twelve months.