Churning

FINRA Bars Former Broker William Brunner After Customer Complaints

August 8, 2018 | Silver Law Group

South-Florida-Broker-Brian-Michael-Berger-Permanently-Barred-by-FINRA-300x200-300x200 William George Brunner (CRD #2610348) is a former registered broker and investment advisor. His last employer was Investment Planners, Inc. (CRD #18557) of Huntington, NY. He was previously employed with First Midwest Securities, Inc. (CRD #21786) and Pointe Capital, Inc. (CRD #112097), also of Huntington. He resigned from Investment Planners on 05/31/2017, and has not been registered with any FINRA-affiliated broker since. No current employment information is available. Brunner joined the industry in 1995.

FINRA recently began an investigation into allegations that Brunner was engaging in excessive trading, and “use of discretion without written authorization in customer accounts” while he was a registered broker. He was requested to give on-the-record testimony in regard to the investigation, and declined to do so. Brunner was indefinitely barred from affiliation with any FINRA broker, effective 04/06/2018.

The investigation stems from a customer complaint to Investment Planners on 05/10/2018 that alleged “suitability, discretion, client unaware of amount of fees paid, client did not receive statements and did not sign active trading letters (client did not allege RR signed letters). Mar 2015 – Feb 2017.” The customer requested damages in the amount of $1,000,000. The firm requested phone records and a written response from Brunner, and he resigned on 05/12/2018. The dispute is still listed as “pending.”

Donald Fowler Charged With Excessive Trading And Churning

August 7, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Broker Donald Fowler (CRD #4989632) is a broker currently registered with Worden Capital Management LLC (CRD #148366) of Rockville Center, New York. He has been with Worden since 2014. He was previously employed by J.D. Nicholas & Associates, Inc. (CRD #44791) of Syosett, NY, and American Capital Partners, LLC (CRD #119249) of Wantagh, NY. He has been in the industry since 2005.

sec-300x198 Fowler, along with another Worden broker, is the subject of an SEC complaint regarding excessive trading, churning, and what the SEC calls an “in-and-out” trading strategy. This generated bigger fees for himself and the other broker who was charged, but caused clients to suffer significant losses as a result.

Fowler is alleged to have recommended the strategy to his 27 clients at now-defunct J.D. Nicholas & Associates without any reason to believe it would benefit any one of them. He knew, or should have known, that the cost structure and nature of the trading would cause them all to lose money. Furthermore, at least three of his 27 accounts were the subject of “churning” (excessive training to generate more commissions and fees.) Both of these practices violated antifraud provisions in federal trading laws. This action is listed as “pending.”

Worden Capital’s Broker Gregory Dean Charged With Churning

August 7, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Stockbroker-Misconduct-1-300x150-300x150 Gregory Dean (CRD #4922996), currently employed with Worden Capital Management of Rockville, NY (CRD #148366) is the subject of multiple disclosures, mostly customer complaints. He is also the subject of a civil SEC complaint and one regulatory complaint, going back to 2013.

Dean’s previous employers include:

D. Nicholas & Associates, Inc. (CRD #44791) of Syosett, NY, from 01/16/2007 through 11/24/2014

Silver Law Group is Investigating David Barber of Madison Avenue Securities

July 25, 2018 | Silver Law Group

D Leon-Vaccarelli-Fined-and-Sanctioned-by-FINRA-300x199 avid Barber (CRD #1165082) was barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities. Without admitting or denying the findings, Barber consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he failed to produce information and documents requested by FINRA during the course of an ongoing examination to determine whether he engaged in unauthorized trading in the accounts of customers of his member firm, exercised discretion in customer accounts without written authorization, or otherwise acted in violation of FINRA rules.

David Barber has been registered with Madison Avenue Securities in San Diego, California since 2015. In January 2018, a securities arbitration award granted a California investor over 2 million dollars in compensatory and punitive damages and attorney’s fees. The securities arbitration panel found Madison Avenue and Mr. Barber liable for churning, unauthorized trading and breach of fiduciary duty.

Contact Our Firm if You’ve Invested with David Barber

Silver Law Group Wins Securities Arbitration Award Against Former Naples, Florida-based Kovack Securities Broker Curtis D. Milakovich

July 24, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group attorneys have won an award against Curtis D. Milakovich, formerly of Kovack Securities Inc. on behalf of our clients through FINRA arbitration.

FINRA Awards Our Clients Damages Due to Curtis D. Milakovich’s Misconduct

FINRA-300x202 On December 22, 2017, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) awarded our clients $164,000 due to Milakovich’s misconduct, including unsuitable recommendations, unauthorized trading, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and churning.

State of Arkansas Bars Worden Capital’s Yousuf Saljooki For Five Years

June 28, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Yousuf Saljooki (CRD #5045123, a/k/a “Joe Saljooki”) is a former registered broker with Worden Capital Management LLC (CRD #148366) of Melville, NY. His previous employers include SW Financial (CRD #145012), Legend Securities, Inc. (CRD #44952, expelled) and Tryco Securities, Inc. (CRD #104025), among others. No current employment information is available. He has been in the industry since 2006.

Saljooki has had two employment separations in less than a year, in part, due to a ban by the state of Arkansas. During the application process, Saljooki failed to disclose an outstanding 2016 federal tax lien of $227,859. The state denied his application, and he was banned for five years. First, SW Financial, then Worden discharged him after the denial. He is not currently registered with any FINRA-affiliated broker.

Two previous disclosures in 2018 include customer disputes with almost identical allegations of churning and unsuitability, as well as breach of contract/fiduciary duty and unauthorized trading. The two disputes have requested damages totaling over $1.5 million. Both cases are pending.

Puerto Rico Bonds Sold by Former Morgan Stanley Broker Angel Aquino

June 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

We recently wrote about securities arbitration claims our securities attorneys are handling involving former Morgan Stanley broker Angel Aquino, (CRD #2687333), while he was a stockbroker with Morgan Stanley. He resigned from the company in July of 2017 after multiple customer complaints and securities arbitration claims. Current customer disputes filed against Aquino currently add up to nearly $12 million. A new related complaint was filed on May 8, 2018 against Aquino and Morgan Stanley (CRD #149777.) He is not currently registered as a broker, and no current employment information is available. Morgan Stanley continues to be subject to multiple claims relating to its recommendation and sale of Puerto Rico bonds.

The complaints stem from Aquino’s heavy emphasis on investments in Puerto Rico Cofina bonds. These are backed by the island’s sales tax revenue, and have triple-tax-free status. They became a popular investment for Wall Street banks to sell to retirees and other investors, but when things changed, the bonds didn’t pay as much and many advisors allegedly failed to disclose the risks with the bonds. But Aquino continued to sell his customers heavily on Puerto Rico bonds, even while they lost money.

Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy in May of 2017 for relief of $70 billion in municipal debt. On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria swept through the island and destroyed crops, damaged aging infrastructure and flooded the cities. No clear path exists for Puerto Rico to meet its debt obligations.

What is a Securities Pump and Dump Scheme?

June 8, 2018 | Silver Law Group

A pump and dump scheme is a method used by fraudsters to artificially boost the price of a security that they own shares of in order to make a profit. According to the Securities & Exchange Commission, pump and dump schemes consist of two parts. First, stock promoters will try to boost the stock price by sharing misleading or false statements about the underlying company’s performance. The promoters may use several methods to spread this false information, including cold calling, emailing, and social media. The promoters may claim to have inside information on the company, and will often encourage their followers to quickly purchase shares of the stock.

Then, once the stock price is inflated by this false information, the promoter will put his own shares of stock on the market, selling them at an artificially high price. This harms investors purchasing these shares because they now hold stock that may drop drastically in price once it is revealed that the information is false.

Engaging in a pump and dump scheme is a violation of both FINRA rules and federal securities laws. FINRA requires that its members refrain from engaging in fraudulent or deceptive practices. FINRA also requires its members to “observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade.”

FINRA Suspends Ryan Michael Murnane

May 25, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Broker Ryan Michael Murnane (CRD #4784140) has been suspended by FINRA for failure to provide requested information. The suspension was enacted on 02/12/2018. Since no action has been taken in the three-month period, the suspension has become a bar as of April 20, 2018. Murnane’s last employer of record was Alexander Capital LP (CRD #40077) of New York, NY, from 01/12/2017 through 04/03/2017. He is not currently registered with any broker-related firm.

Murnane’s previous employment history includes:

Woodstock Financial Group (CRD #38095), of Staten Island, NY, from 07/15/2015 through 02/07/2017. Murnane was discharged from this position; see details below.

Broker Bradley Everett Gardner Accused Of Churning, Resigns After Accepting Customer Check In His Name

May 4, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Bradley Everett Gardner (CRD# 4423724) is a former broker and investment advisor whose last known position in the financial industry was with LPL, LLC, (CRD# 6413) of Fort Bragg, CA. He worked for LPL from 02/27/2012 to 10/18/2017. Previously, Gardner worked for:

Raymond Jones Financial Services, Inc. (CRD# 6694) of Fort Bragg CA, from 06/01/2009 to 02/29/2012
Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (CRD# 11025) of Fort Bragg, CA, from 06/13/2005 to 06/02/2009