A National Securities Arbitration & Investment Fraud Law Firm
Anthony Hall (Anthony Glenn Hall CRD: #5546165) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last known employer was Edward Jones (CRD: #250) of Dayton, Texas. He was employed with Edward Jones from 2008 until his discharge in 2019. No additional employment information is available. Continue reading ›
Back in October, we told you about Kyusun Kim (CRD #2864085), a broker who was barred by FINRA after it was discovered he approached individuals who were near or at retirement age, and urged them to liquidate their pensions to invest in “alternative investments.” These investments included risky, non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs.)
BrokerCheck now reports that Sandlapper Wealth Management, LLC has discharged him from their employment as of 8/31/2018 after he was barred by FINRA.
The allegations against Kim included wrongful conduct, breaches of fiduciary duty, contract and conduct, violations of securities laws, fraud, financial elder abuse, negligent misrepresentation, inappropriate investments and unsuitable recommendations, as well as one allegation of forged signatures.
Mohamed Racheed Yassin (CRD #1673281) is a previously registered broker and investment advisor whose last employer was National Securities Corporation (CRD #7569) of Westbury, NY. His previous employers include Morgan Stanley (CRD #149777) of Garden City, NY, UBS Financial Services Inc. (CRD #8174) of Uniondale, NY and Prudential Securities Incorporated (CRD #7471) of New York, NY. He has been in the industry since 1990.
Yassin is the subject of two FINRA disciplinary actions. The first, filed on 10/29/2018, suspends Yassin indefinitely for failure to comply with an arbitration award in a case of breach of promissory notes.
The earlier FINRA action on 8/21/2018 bars Yassin from any and all association with a FINRA member after he failed to respond to a request for information. FINRA then barred Yassin indefinitely from affiliation with any FINRA member effective 11/26/2018.
Mitchell Alan Kurtz (CRD #2437746) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last employer was Henley & Company LLC (CRD #131453) of Roslyn Heights, NY. His previous employers are Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. (CRD #6694), also of Roslyn Heights, and Advest, Inc. (CRD #10) of Hartford, CT. He has been in the industry since 1994.
FINRA recently barred Kurtz “indefinitely,” effective 12/3/2018, after he declined to provide information requested in conjunction with an investigation. He is barred from any association with a FINRA member firm, and signed an Acceptance, Waiver & Consent (AWC) letter agreeing to the sanctions.
The investigation came after Kurtz was discharged from his last employer, Henley & Company on 7/30/2018. Kurtz violated both FINRA and SEC policies with regards to “outside business activities, selling away, fiduciary duty obligations, violation of professional standards and the Firm’s Code of Ethics.” This discharge led to the FINRA investigation, in which he declined to participate.
Phillip Andrew Johnson (CRD #501352) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last employer was D.H. Hill Securities, LLLP (CRD #41528) of Kingwood, TX. His previous employers include SunTrust Investment Services, Inc. (CRD #17499) of Nashville, TN, AXA Advisors, LLC (CRD #6627) and The Equitable Life Assurance Society Of The United States (CRD #4039), both of New York, New York. He has been in the industry since 1976.
Johnson is the subject of seven disclosures on his record, four of which are regulatory actions. Five of the disclosures were filed from 04/24/2015 through 06/20/2018. The first disclosure was employment separation.
Two of the disclosures in 2018 are regulatory actions from FINRA, related to the same action.
Suhail Saleem Khan (CRD #3168241) is a former registered broker and investment advisor who was last employed with LPL Financial LLC (CRD #6413) of Chicago, IL. His previous employers include Vision (CRD #47927) and U.S. Financial Investments, Inc. (CRD #120804), also of Chicago. No current employment information is available. He began in the industry in 1999.
Khan was barred by FINRA after he refused to answer a request for information from them. He was barred in all capacities, and from associating with a FINRA member in any capacity, effective 11/17/2017. Khan did not request a termination of his suspension within 3 months, so he was indefinitely barred from the industry, and remains so to this day.
On 5/25/2018, a customer filed a dispute alleging that from 2013 through 2017, Khan made “unsuitable, speculative investments” in his own hedge fund business, as well as one REIT and an oil & gas business. The customer also alleged that some of the investments contained unregistered securities, and has requested damages of $775,000.00. The case is currently listed as “pending.”
In August, we told you about John Cochran Maccoll (CRD #839441) who was barred by FINRA after multiple fraud allegations. Since then, there have been two additional developments.
Another customer has come forward and filed a complaint on 08/16/2018, alleging misappropriation of client funds from 10/01/2015 through 08/16/2018. The case was settled for $158,163.76. No additional information is available. This case is in addition to the previous cases we described in the earlier blog post.
On 8/9/2018, The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan filed criminal charges against Maccoll in an action initiated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC.) In it, the SEC detailed how Maccoll persuaded investors, mostly elderly, into investing in what he described as a “highly sought after private fund investment.” These investors, most of them retired, used their retirement accounts to fund their alleged investments. In return, Maccoll promised a 20% return on investment, as well as diversifying their portfolios and better growth potential than their current investment portfolios.
James Edward Lyons (CRD #1020397) is a former broker and investment advisor who was last registered with Raymond James & Associates, Inc. (CRD #705) of Shreveport, LA. He was previously employed by Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. (CRD #4161), also of Shreveport, and Capitol Securities Group, Inc. (CRD #8094). No current employment information is available. He has been in the industry since 1981.
Lyons is the subject of a current customer dispute with multiple claimants alleging a number of complaints, including unauthorized trading, fraudulent concealment, overconcentration, unsuitability and others. The actions in question occurred between 2001 and 2017. The damages requested total $5,000,000. The case is currently pending.
A similar complaint was filed on 04/29/2016, with many of the same allegations from 2/17/2011 – 4/29/2016. The client alleges unauthorized trading, churning, fraudulent omissions, suitability, and securities law violations at both the federal and state (Louisiana) level. The client requested damages of $1,200,000, and the case was settled for $400,000.
Bradley Taylor Pace (CRD #2097427) is a previously registered broker whose last employer was LPL Financial LLC (CRD #6413) of Orlando, FL. His previous employers include A.J. Pace & Co., Inc. (CRD #24228), also of Orlando, TD Waterhouse Investor Services, Inc. (CRD #7870) of Omaha, NE, and Quick & Reilly, Inc. (CRD #11217) of New York, NY. No current employment information is available. He began in the industry in 1991.
FINRA sent Pace a request for information, which he did not respond to by the requested deadline. FINRA then suspended Pace, indefinitely and in all capacities, effective 06/28/2018. Should Pace fail to request termination of his suspension within a 3-month time frame, he will be barred by FINRA from any association with any FINRA member firm. There is no indication of what prompted the request, or if any complaints were involved.
Pace is also the subject of a customer dispute, filed on 1/26/2018. In it, the customer alleged “unsuitability relating to the purchase of a REIT investment and misrepresentation relating to the liquidity of the REIT investment.” However, the claim was denied, and no additional information is available.
In August, we told you about former broker Sean Brady (CRD #4365173) who was recently barred by FINRA and discharged by his employer, First Allied Securities, Inc. (CRD #32444) of St. Louis, MO.
Since our last report, eight more customer disputes were recently filed against Brady, between 6/28/2018 and 07/03/2018. All these cases are pending, and the total of requested damages is an eye-watering $12,575,730.49.
Like the previous disclosures, these clients allege that Brady used the same practices, including:
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