All Releases

Prospera Broker John N. Crook Under Investigation After $4.8 Million Complaint Filed

January 25, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating Macon, Georgia-based Prospera Financial Services, Inc. (CRD# 10740) broker John N. Crook (CRD# 2715424) after a customer filed a $4.8 million complaint.

According to Crook’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, a customer filed a FINRA arbitration against Crook in August 2016 alleging churning and excessive trading, unauthorized trading, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and intentional misrepresentation and omission, and negligence. The complaint alleges $4.8 million in damages.

The $4.8 million claim follows Crook’s termination by Raymond James & Associates, Inc. (CRD# 705). Raymond James alleged that it had lost confidence in Crook after an internal review into a client complaint during which the Raymond James found that Crook did not respond candidly to a supervisory review of trading activity.

Former New York Ridgeway & Conger Broker Philip Brisard Under Investigation

January 25, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former Jericho, New York Ridgeway & Conger, Inc. (CRD# 113055) Philip Brisard (CRD# 2646923) after FINRA permanently barred the broker.

According to Brisard’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, FINRA permanently barred Brisard.

According to Brisard’s BrokerCheck report, in January 2016 Brisard was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he sold an unregistered security. FINRA found that Brisard sold unsuitable investments at undisclosed markups of 14-33 percent using general solicitation emails that fraudulently misrepresented the product and the respondent’s role in its development.

Former LPL Financial Broker Paul E. Dorion Under Investigation After FINRA Bars Him

January 25, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former Vermont-based LPL Financial LLC (CRD# 6413) broker Paul E. Dorion (CRD# 1103701) after FINRA permanently barred him

According to Dorion’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, FINRA permanently barred Dorion from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public after he failed to respond to a FINRA request for information.

The permanent bar follows a discharge by LPL Financial in October 2015 after Dorion allegedly placed unauthorized trades in an LPL Financial customer account. Further, LPL Financial, according to the BrokerCheck report, had concerns over concentrated equity positions in client accounts and alleged Dorion failed to respond to LPL Financial’s compliance representatives.

Former New York Woodstock Financial Group Broker Glenn McDowell Under Investigation

January 23, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former New York, New York-based Woodstock Financial Group, Inc. (CRD# 38095) broker Glenn McDowell (CRD# 2748337) after the broker was named in a FINRA complaint alleging unauthorized activity in a customer account.

According to McDowell’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, FINRA named McDowell in a complaint in October 2016 alleging that McDowell executed unauthorized transactions in the account of a customer without first obtaining authorization. Further, the complaint alleges the customer’s individual brokerage account was not a discretionary account, the customer never executed a discretionary account agreement, and McDowell’s member firm prohibited any discretionary trading. McDowell earned approximately $5,300 in commissions for these transactions, according to the BrokerCheck report.

This complaint follows a discharge by McDowell’s former brokerage firm, National Securities Corporation (CRD# 7569) in Brooklyn, New York. According to McDowell’s BrokerCheck, McDowell was terminated upon review of allegations in a customer complaint alleging unauthorized trades and poor performance.

Former Missouri LPL Financial Broker Joseph Likens Under Investigation for Pending Selling Away Complaint

January 23, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former Missouri-based LPL Financial LLC (CRD# 6413) broker Joseph A. Likens (CRD# 3084903) after a customer filed a FINRA arbitration alleging selling away, unsuitable recommendations and misrepresentation.

According to Likens’ FINRA BrokerCheck report, Likens has five (5) disclosures. Most recently, a customer filed a complaint against Likens in November 2016 alleging he sold outside investments away from his firm, unsuitable recommendations and misrepresentation. The complaint alleges $120,000 in damages and is currently pending.

Prior to the FINRA arbitration filing, FINRA permanently barred Likens from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public in October 2016 after Likens failed to respond to a FINRA inquiry for information.

Summit Brokerage Services Broker Keith A. Bradley Under Investigation for Unsuitable Recommendations and Negligence Allegations

January 17, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating Houston, Texas-based Summit Brokerage Services, Inc. (CRD# 34643) broker Keith A. Bradley (CRD# 868141) after a customer filed a FINRA arbitration alleging unsuitable recommendations and negligence.

According to Bradley’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, a customer filed a FINRA arbitration against Bradley in July 2016 alleging unsuitable investments, negligence, and $100,000 in damages.

In addition to the FINRA arbitration filing, Bradley has four other disclosures on his FINRA BrokerCheck report. The other four are all tax liens accrued in separate cases. His first came in 1989 and is for an unspecified amount. His second tax lien was in 1999 in the amount of $109,000. His third came three years later in 2002 in an amount of $108,000. His most recent tax lien was in 2011 in the amount of $400,000.

Cetera Subsidiary VSR Financial Services Closing; Transferring Brokers to Other Firms in Cetera Network

January 17, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Cetera Financial Group subsidiary VSR Financial Services, Inc. (CRD# 14503) is winding down and transferring some of its brokers to other Cetera Financial Group broker-dealers.

VSR is one of Cetera Financial Group’s (“Cetera”) many independent brokerage firms. Cetera was acquired by Nicholas “Nick” Schorsch’s RCS Capital in 2014 in an acquisition spree used to create a selling network for RCS Capital’s products, including numerous business development companies (“BDCs”) and non-traded REITs. Many of Cetera’s brokerage firms operate under Cetera Advisor Networks, LLC (CRD# 13572), a list of which can be found here.

According to some sources, the move is part of an ongoing plan to evade RCS Capital’s poor reputation. VSR will be the second firm under the Cetera umbrella to be shut down if it can beat Investors Capital Corp. (CRD# 30613), which is also part of Cetera’s Financial Group and expected to also be closed or consolidated in the coming months. J.P. Turner & Company, L.L.C. (CRD# 43177), shuttered in 2015, was the first Cetera subsidiary broker-dealer to close.

UDF IV Delisted from NASDAQ; Issues Distribution Despite Delisting

January 17, 2017 | Silver Law Group

United Development Funding IV (“UDF IV”) announced a distribution amidst a continuing SEC investigation and delisting from NASDAQ exchange.

On November 8, 2016, United Development Funding (“UDF”) announced that its public real estate investment trust United Development Funding IV’s board of trustees has authorized a cash distribution of $0.08 per share payable on November 28, 2016 to its shareholders.

Though UDF shareholders do not have much to celebrate, this distribution presents some good news given the storm the company has been through. For example, most recently, in October 2016, UDF IV was delisted from the NASDAQ Stock Market and is now listed on the OTC Markets under the symbol UDFI. It’s currently trading at $2.76 per share.

Peter Kohli, DMS Advisors and Marshad Capital Group Under Investigation for Allegations of $3.2 Million Fraud

January 5, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating SEC allegations against Peter R. Kohli (CRD# 1064334), DMS Advisors, Inc. and Marshad Capital Group, Inc., the parties that allegedly deceived investors into investing $3.2 million in Kohli’s failing mutual fund business.

According to the SEC Complaint filed in September 2016, Kohli, a registered representative of Trustmont Financial Group (CRD# 18312), Inc. at the time, Kohli filed false mutual fund registration statements with the SEC, misappropriated funds, and made false and misleading statements when selling securities in a company controlled by Kohli.

Kohli launched DMS Funds, which ultimately consisted of four emerging market mutual fund series, according to the Complaint. DMS Advisors, Inc. was DMS Funds’ investment adviser, and a separate Kohli-controlled company. Kohli then proceeded to file registration statements with the SEC that falsely overstated DMS Funds’ sophistication. Furhter, they failed to disclose the most important risk, that Kohli and DMS Funds were unable to pay the funds’ expenses.

Former Wells Fargo Broker Under Investigation After FINRA Suspended Him For to Unauthorized Trading Allegations

January 5, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. (CRD# 19616) broker Paul S. Plemenos (CRD# 2193190) after FINRA suspended him over unauthorized trading allegations at his former firm.

According to Plemenos’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, FINRA suspended him in July 2016 for executing trades in the accounts of customers without written authorization from the customers and without having the accounts approved as discretionary accounts by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith (CRD# 7691), Plemenos’s employing firm at the time.

FINRA and Plemenos entered into an Acceptance, Waiver & Consent (“AWC”) memorializing the suspension. According to the AWC, Plemenos was ordered to pay $7,500 in fines and was suspended 30 days.