A National Securities Arbitration & Investment Fraud Law Firm
Investment broker Matthew DiGregorio was suspended by the Federal Industry Regulatory Authority in August of 2015. Mr. DiGregorio has had multiple complaints filed against him by prior clients for the following breaches of conduct:
Hugh Monroe Dyson, Jr. was issued a final suspension in August, 2015 and ordered to pay $740,000 (plus interest) in restitution to clients that he solicited to invest in his business, Keypoint Oil, and misrepresented how he used their investments.
FINRA found that over a period of nearly 20 years between 1992-2011, Mr. Dyson solicited more than $740,000 in funds from clients of Ameriprise Financial Services in Raleigh, NC and other former securities customers. He claimed that these investments would be used for oil and gas extraction.
FINRA has taken strong action against investment broker Richard McGuire, a long-time broker who was most recently registered with Newport Coast Securities Inc. and Financial West Group, both located in New York.
McGuire has been permanently barred from associating with any FINRA member in any capacity for numerous alleged unethical actions including stealing from his clients, forging signatures, failing to notify his brokerage firms about outside brokerage accounts, and taking advantage of older and unsophisticated clients for his own personal gain.
FINRA recently brought enforcement action against Jonathan Williams that led to a bar from the securities industry. Williams was accused of failing to provide FINRA staff with documents and information requested by the agency in an investigation. The failure to provide these documents as well as other information to FINRA led to an automatic bar working in the industry at all, as brokers bear a responsibility to comply with ongoing investigations.
The investigation in question had to do with claims about whether Williams had falsified bank account records or commingled client funds in a bank account that was ultimately under his control. This investigation stems from Williams’ termination from NY Life Securities LLC in March earlier this year. At that time, NY Life officially filed a termination notice with FINRA on form U-5 stating, that the firm discharged the broker in question as a result of allegations of commingling client funds.
Michael Talin, a former broker associated with Woodbury Financial Services, has been barred from the securities industry by FINRA after failing to cooperate with agency investigators. An investigation was launched after customers alleged that he misappropriated and converted more than $300,000 in customer funds.
According to the BrokerCheck report, Woodbury Financial discharged Talin after he failed to disclose three tax liens and civil complaints against him to the firm. He had previously been registered with Woodbury’s Seal Beach branch in California since 1998 and had worked in the Los Alamitos location since the year 2000.
Tiffany Peacock-Asakawa was suspended from practicing in the securities industry for 10 months in August, following allegations that she was involved in false representation and the falsification of records of trade orders at her member firm, according to FINRA.
According to FINRA reports, Peacock-Asakawa allegedly accepted trade orders that she was not licensed to accept, as she was not registered as a financial adviser in Hawaii. Sanctions were levied against her in the form of a 10-month suspension from the industry and a $15,000 fine.
After thirteen years in the securities industry, Jeffrey Pierce has been permanently barred from practicing in the securities industry in any capacity. During his career, Pierce accumulated eleven disclosure events, including regulatory events, a criminal event, customer disputes and two employer terminations.
The most recent complaint, according to FINRA’s BrokerCheck report, alleges that Pierce circumvented the procedures of his member firm in order to conceal unsuitable annuity replacement transactions.
As Puerto Rico’s financial struggles continue, a FINRA arbitration panel awarded three claimants $3M in an alleged fraud claim against UBS Financial Services in early September.
According to Law360.com, the claimants alleged that the bank committed fraud relating to closed-end funds and muni bonds, and how the bank used those investments as collateral to borrow funds through lines of credit. Included in the complaint were allegations of breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and breach of contract against UBS.
One broker had over 30 years’ experience in the securities industry. One broker had only one year of experience in the securities industry. Yet both brokers were terminated from LPL Financial LLC within a month of each other.
According to the FINRA BrokerCheck website, both Thomas H. Caniford and Andrew M. Carter were terminated earlier this year from the firm for what seem to be fairly similar reasons.
Morgan Stanley has found itself on the wrong end of a Florida FINRA arbitration for claimed damages of $400 million. Lynnda Speer, the widow of Home Shopping Network (HSN) co-founder Roy M. Speer, filed the claim against Morgan Stanley and one of its branch managers and investment advisers. Due to its size, the firm acknowledged the claim in a disclosure in its annual financial report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in March.
In addition to being the widow of Mr. Speer, Ms. Speer is the personal representative of his estate. In her claim, filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), she alleges excessive trading, negligent supervision, and unjust enrichment. According to a SEC filing, the claims also include that Morgan Stanley and the adviser, working out of Palm Harbor, Florida, engaged in the unauthorized use of discretion and abused their fiduciary duty.
After helping to create the popular HSN, it was estimated by Forbes that Mr. Speer was worth $775 million in 2002. Before passing away in 2012, Mr. Speer suffered from “significant diminished capacity” during the later years of his life. It is alleged that during the final five years of his life, his adviser, Ami Forte, and the firm conducted roughly 12,000 unauthorized trades, which generated around $40 million in commissions. Also named in the suit is the Morgan Stanley branch manager, Terry McCoy.
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