A National Securities Arbitration & Investment Fraud Law Firm
Silver Law Group is investigating former broker Edward Vincent Mirabella, Jr. (CRD #2843670) for multiple customer complaints. His last known employer was National Securities Corporation in their Edison, NJ location (CRD #7569), from 08/24/2009 to 05/13/2016.
Mirabella was previously employed with:
Benjamin Aibel (CRD# 1994) has been with the Memphis, Tennessee branch of Wunderlich Securities since 2012. In a regulatory action from 2017, FINRA found that Aibel failed to respond to a FINRA request for information. Aibel also failed to request termination of his earlier suspension within the allotted time. As a result, FINRA permanently barred Aibel from being associated with any FINRA member firm.
In addition to this regulatory action, Aibel has also been the subject of several customer disputes. In one dispute settled in 2016, the Claimant alleged over $600,000 in damages stemming from Aibel’s breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, unauthorized trading, and unsuitable recommendations. In three different customer disputes from 2002, the Claimants all alleged that Aibel misrepresented a corporate bond to Claimants; each claim occurred while Aibel was employed by Salomon Smith Barney, Inc. In a final claim from 2002, the Claimant alleged that Aibel provided unsuitable recommendations and engaged in churning in Claimant’s account; that claim settled for over $80,000.
FINRA requires its members to “have a reasonable basis to believe that a recommended transaction or investment strategy” is suitable for a customer given their individual needs. FINRA also requires that its members refrain from engaging in fraudulent or deceptive practices with their customers.
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel awarded a customer of Christopher Bennett of Hillard Lyons damages of $445,000 after the claimant alleged Bennett engaged in breach of fiduciary duty, unauthorized trading, suitability, churning, misrepresentation, omission of facts, common law negligence, fraud, failure to supervise, common law negligent supervision and violation of Kentucky statutes, regulations and FINRA rules. The causes of action related to losses to the client’s qualified and non-qualified retirement accounts. The investor alleges Mr. Bennett executed transactions in her accounts without authorization, allocated her assets in an unsuitable manner for someone her age and with her investment objectives without discussing the risk associated with such re-allocation, and engaged in excessive trading in her accounts. A brokerage firm has a duty to supervise a stockbroker for compliance with the securities laws and internal firm rules and regulations.
Christopher Duke Bennett is currently registered with J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons in Louisville, Kentucky, and has been since December 1995. He has six customer disputes against him, three of which are currently pending.
Laidlaw & Company financial advisor Patrick Maddren (CRD# 4665903) is the subject of a customer complaint for excessive trading and commissions. Maddren has been registered with Westpark Capital, Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida since August 2017. Previously, he was registered with Laidlaw & Company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from 2017 to September 2017. A recent customer arbitration claim was settled for $295,000. A brokerage firm has a duty to supervise its stockbrokers and prevent excessive trading or commissions. If a firm fails to properly supervise a financial advisor or otherwise mismanage a portfolio, an investor may have legal rights.
If you invested with Patrick Maddren and believe you have lost money due to his misconduct, you may be able to file a claim to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration. For a free evaluation of your potential case by as securities attorney, please contact Silver Law Group.
Silver Law Group is investigating former Legend Equities Corp. (“Legend”) broker Walter Joseph Marino (“Marino”) for allegations of unsuitable recommendations and charging excessive commissions and fees in customer accounts. Marino was employed by Legend’s Palm Beach Gardens, Florida office prior to his termination in July 2015.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) suspended Marino on 10/16/2017 for a 1-year period ending 10/15/2018 after Marino, without admitting or denying the findings, consented to FINRA’s findings that he had recommended unsuitable exchanges of variable annuity products to two customers without having a reasonable basis for recommending the transactions while at Legend Equities Corp. The transactions were found to benefit Marino and caused substantial harm to the customers.
In addition, in order to evade supervision, the complaint alleged that Marino lied to Legend about the source of the money used to purchase the new annuity. Instead of stating the new annuity was replacing another annuity, Marino stated on company documents that the purchases were paid for with a check.
CRD#2393464
Silver Law Group is investigating Jacksonville, Florida-based LPL Financial broker Melvin Case following multiple customer complaints alleging unsuitable investment recommendations, churning, and misrepresentation.
Case is not currently employed by any FINRA registered brokerage. He was previously employed by firm LPL at their Jacksonville, FL office, where he was employed since 2008. Case was discharged from LPL over allegations of criminal charges involving exploitation of an aged adult after converting the victim’s money to his own benefit.
According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck report on Case, a complaint was received in August of 2017 alleging that Case had provided unsuitable investment recommendations and engaged in churning and misrepresentation. The complaint alleges over $6,000 in damages and settled in September for $9,023.
An unsuitable recommendation is a serious form of potential broker misconduct. A broker’s employing firm is responsible for overseeing the broker to prevent such misconduct. Failure to supervise is a claim made against a brokerage firm in these situations.
Unauthorized trading occurs when a broker facilitates a transaction without the permission of the customer in a non-discretionary account. According to FINRA, it is one of the common investor issues along with misrepresentation, cold-calling, and unsuitability.
Often, unauthorized trading is accompanied by churning. Churning occurs when the account frequently trades for no apparent reason but to generate fees and commissions.
Also, among other investment tenets, brokers are required to recommend suitable investments to their customers. This requires that the broker: Investigates and conducts due diligence into the investment’s attributes including its benefits, risks, tax consequences, and other relevant factors to form a reasonable basis for the recommendation of the product; and appropriately matches the investment with the customer’s specific investment needs and objectives, such as the customer’s retirement status, long or short-term goals, age, disability, income needs, or any other relevant factors.
When a broker or brokerage firm fails to recommend investments to its customers along those guidelines, there must be accountability. If you have lost money on an investment that did not fit your investment profile, you may be able to recover some or all of your lost money.
FINRA arbitration is a fast, efficient way to recover your lost investment funds due to unsuitable investment recommendation or unauthorized trading. The Silver Law Group works on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay us nothing unless we recover money for you. Our Florida licensed attorneys can represent you in any Florida securities or investment fraud matter.
If you invested with LPL Financial and Melvin Case and have lost money doing so, you may be able to recover some or all of your losses. We are experienced in recovering investor losses due to broker/brokerage firm misconduct and mismanagement through FINRA arbitration.
Silver Law Group represents the interests of investors who have been the victims of investment fraud. If you have questions about your legal rights, please contact Scott Silver of the Silver Law Group for a free consultation at ssilver@silverlaw.com or toll-free at (800) 975-4345.
Michael P Mctigue
CRD#3031287
Silver Law Group is investigating former Boca Raton, Florida-based Newbridge Securities Corp broker Michael P Mctigue. Following his voluntary resignation from his firm and allegations of churning and excessive trading.
Shadi T Barakat
CRD#5031281
Silver Law Group is investigating former New York, New York-based AEGIS Capital Corp broker Shadi T. Barakat after multiple clients filed FINRA complaints alleging excessive trading and churning. This complaint was settled in 2015 for $360,000.
Silver Law Group is investigating Boca Raton, Florida-based Revere Securities LLC (CRD# 14178) broker Brett S. Murphy (CRD# 2434384) over allegations that Murphy excessively traded unit investment trusts (“UITs”) in a customer’s account.
According to Scott’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, a customer filed a complaint against Scott alleging Scott churned the customer’s account in UITs and that the UITs were unsuitable. Further, the customer alleges that Scott’s employing firm, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. (CRD# 249) as well as Revere Securities, failed to supervise Scott.
Oppenheimer employed Scott from July 2011 to March 2015 at its Palm Beach Gardens, Florida locations. Scott then moved further south to Revere Securities in Boca Raton, Florida where he is currently employed.
Christopher Paul’s 14-year career as a broker is over. In November of 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) permanently banned him because he did not respond when the agency contacted him for information. Paul has had many customer complaints against him dating back to 2008.
Paul began his career at S.W. Bach & Company out of Port Washington, NY, in 2001. In 2005, he moved on to Granite Associates, Inc. in Melville, NY, followed by Whitaker Securities LLC, also in Melville.
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