FINRA Arbitration

Massachusetts-based Broker Jeffrey B. Pierce Permanently Barred by FINRA

October 23, 2015 | Silver Law Group

Massachusetts-based Broker Jeffrey B. Pierce Permanently Barred by FINRA on silverlaw.com

Allegations include conversion of funds from non-securities customer account

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.

UBS to Pay FINRA Claimants $3M in Puerto Rico Muni Bond Case

October 18, 2015 | Silver Law Group

FINRA arbitration panel finds bank liable in alleged fraud claim

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.

Two LPL Financial LLC Brokers, Thomas Caniford and Andrew Carter, Permanently Barred by FINRA

July 27, 2015 | Silver Law Group

Both brokers barred following termination from same firm

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.

Widow of HSN Founder Files Suit against Morgan Stanley

July 8, 2015 | Silver Law Group

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.

FINRA Creates Interactive Game Intended to Help Investors Combat Fraud

July 7, 2015 | Silver Law Group

According to the Financial Fraud Research Center, Americans lose $50 billion each year to fraud. Further, research funded by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Education Foundation (Foundation) discovered that roughly 80 percent of consumers over the age of 40 said they had been solicited for a potentially fraudulent scheme. In order to combat this, the Foundation has developed an interactive game designed to educate investors on how to spot the tactics used by individuals who commit fraud.

“Con ‘Em If You Can”

The game, called “Con ‘Em If You Can,” was developed by the Foundation and the D2D Fund. It is intended to provide an entertaining way for investors to learn about fraudulent tactics. Fraud criminals use persuasion to take advantage of investors. Often, these individuals ask investors about such items as their health, family, and hobbies and use that information to complete their fraudulent acts. Fraudulent schemes may include promising a quick path to wealth or leading investors to believe that there is a limited supply for something.

Customer Files Claim Against Wells Fargo For Investing in F-Squared Investments

June 30, 2015 | Silver Law Group

A customer of Wells Fargo Advisors filed a FINRA complaint against Wells Fargo to seek the money he lost when his adviser invested his monies in “F-Squared Investments.” The customer’s claim is that Wells Fargo failed to supervise his adviser properly, and also did not do the required due diligence in the investment that he recommended (F-Squared). The customer is also seeking lost opportunity damages, which is the money he could have made if his money were invested in an S&P 500 Fund.

The SEC launched an investigation into F-Squared Investments and its co-founder and CEO Howard Present, in 2013. According to the SEC’s Order of December 2014, F-Squared Investments agreed to pay $35 million and admit wrongdoing to settle charges that it defrauded investors through false advertising about its flagship product (AlphaSector). The SEC alleged that while marketing AlphaSector into the largest active ETF (“exchange-traded funds”) strategy in the market, F-Squared falsely advertised a successful seven-year track record for the investment strategy based on the actual performance of real investments for real clients. In reality, the algorithm was not even in existence during the seven years of purported performance success. The data used in F-Squared’s advertising was actually derived through backtesting, although F-Squared and Howard Present specifically advertised the investment strategy as “not backtested.” Further, the hypothetical data contained a substantial performance calculation error that inflated the results by approximately 350 percent.

According to news reports, the customer in this case is an elderly person who claims that Wells Fargo did not perform due diligence on investments prior to selling them to the public. Additionally, the customer claims that Wells Fargo failed to properly supervise one of its advisers and recommendations the advisor made to the client, who described himself as a “moderately conservative investor seeking moderately conservative growth”, concerning his investment risk. The client claims that had Wells Fargo conducted full due diligence on the F-Squared product, it would have discovered red flags, additionally seeing that the ETF-based F-Squared product was not appropriate for a moderately conservative investor.

Silver Law Group Files Securities Arbitration Case Against Dawson James

May 29, 2015 | Silver Law Group

The Silver Law Group has filed a securities arbitration claim before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) on behalf of a family and a family business from South America alleging, among other things, that Dawson James failed to properly supervise one of its registered representatives, permitted an unsuitable investment strategy to be utilized and permitted the family’s investment accounts to be excessively traded for the purposes of generating huge commissions for itself and its registered representatives while wiping out most of their customers’ investment capital in a very short period of time.

Excessive trading or “churning,” as it is known in the industry, is the act of a broker who excessively and needlessly engages in trading in a client’s account primarily to generate commissions for the broker on each trade without regard for the client’s financial well-being. Churning is an illegal and unethical practice that violates SEC rules and securities laws.

Dawson James Securities markets itself as a full service investment firm specializing in complex healthcare, biotechnology, technology, and clean-tech sectors. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the firm has been in operation since 2002. Dawson James has been the subject of several regulatory investigations, some which resulted in disciplinary actions by regulators. For example, FINRA recently censured and fined Dawson James $75,000 for failing to provide adequate supervisory procedures. FINRA found that during the review period the firm failed to investigate numerous “red flags” relating to the activities of one registered representative. Dawson James also failed to enforce its written supervisory procedures which specified that all electronic correspondence is reviewed on a daily basis. The firm has also been the subject of several customer FINRA arbitration claims.

Stockbroker Thomas Tedeschi and Broker-Dealer Aegis Capital Corp. are the Subject of Multiple Securities Arbitration Claims Against Them for Churning

May 14, 2015 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA, Thomas Tedeschi has recently been named in a securities arbitration lawsuit against him and his former employer, Aegis Capital Corp., for making unsuitable investments, unauthorized trades, misrepresentations and excessive trading (churning), among other claims. The assertions against him involve speculative securities that include penny stocks and Exchange Traded Notes. Mr. Tedeschi is required by law to only recommend or engage in transactions that are suitable to their individual client, and not to excessively trade in their accounts. This type of trading may be considered stockbroker misconduct called churning. The excessive buying and selling is done for the purpose of generating commissions for the broker, and not to benefit the client. In fact, it almost always results in enormous losses to the client.

Thomas Tedeschi began his stockbroker career in 1994 and has been employed by 17 different brokerage firms since then, seven of which have been expelled from the brokerage industry by FINRA for violations of the law and misconduct. It is quite a shocking record. Additionally, Aegis Capital Corp. has many claims against it, including 17 final regulatory violations that were filed by FINRA, NASDAQ Stock Market, and other regulatory bodies, for such violations as market manipulation, excessive buying and selling of illicit microcap stocks, failure to supervise and failure to disclose, late trade reporting, and other violations of NASD Rules and Texas Securities Acts as well. There is one regulatory violation claim currently pending. Aegis Capital Corp has also been fined on numerous occasions and has been suspended in the past from acting as a market maker.

If you invested money with Thomas Tedeschi or Aegis Capital Corp. and suffered losses, you may be entitled to recover some or all of those investment losses. Please call our securities law firm toll free at (800) 975-4345 to speak with an experienced attorney and to find out how we may be able to help you regain some or all of your investment losses. Most cases are handled on a contingent fee basis, meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful in your lawsuit.

FINRA Suspends Registered Individuals for Violations of FINRA Rules – 3

December 30, 2014 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for November, 2014, the following individuals were suspended from FINRA for failing to comply with a FINRA arbitration award or settlement agreement pursuant to FINRA rules:

NAME	FORMER EMPLOYERS
Niyukt Raghu Bhasin	NSM Securities, Inc.
Niyukt Raghu Bhasin	Max International Broker/Dealer Corp.
William Dean Chapman, Jr.	Alexander Capital Advisers
Ronald Moschetta	Todd and Company, Inc.
Ronald Moschetta	Strasbourger Pearson Tulcin Wolff Inc.
Arthur James Penna	Eagle One Investments, LLC
Arthur James Penna	ING Financial Partners, Inc.
Wayne Timothy Roys	First National Capital Markets
Wayne Timothy Roys	Key Investment Services LLC
Matthew Albert Ryer	Avenir Financial Group
Matthew Albert Ryer	Blackwall Capital Markets, Inc.
Matthew A. Tarrance	Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC
Matthew A. Tarrance	Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.

Scott Silver Presents “How to Win an Alternative Investment Case” at the 2014 American Association of Justice Annual Convention

August 1, 2014 | Silver Law Group

Scott Silver, Managing Partner of Silver Law Group, is the current co-chair of the Securities and Financial Fraud group of the American Association of Justice (“AAJ”). On July 28, 2014, during the 2014 AAJ Annual Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, Scott gave a well-received presentation titled “How to Win an Alternative Investment Case.” AAJ, also known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, is the world’s largest trial bar and promotes justice and fairness for injured persons and safeguards victims’ rights.

The theme of the presentation focused on the rise of Alternative Investment or Product cases over the last several years. Driven by its desire to replace commissions lost as investors realize stocks and bonds can be traded at discount firms for less than ten dollars a trade, Wall Street has introduced many new Alternatives to investors. However, many of the new, complex Alternatives can be riddled with fees, conflicts of interest, and are frequently more speculative than marketed by the firms. Several recent FINRA arbitration claims focus on products which lose substantially all of their value in a short time. FINRA has seen a rise in arbitration claims where multiple investors all seek damages relating to the same Alternative Investments or Product and where one or more of the asserted claims center around allegations regarding the widespread mismarketing or defective development of a specific investment.

Alternative Investments which have been the subject of recent FINRA claims include: