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Articles Posted in Stockbroker Misconduct

What would you do if your broker decided to move to a new firm? Would you follow them?  What if you’re a broker who wants to change firms for good cause?  Silver Law Group represents investors and individual financial advisors in claims against brokerage firms for misconduct relating to failure to properly disclose the reasons for a brokers termination, claims of harassment or misconduct by the brokerage against the financial advisor and investors who have been harmed when brokerage firms fail to advise the client that a broker has been terminated for cause or damage to investor’s portfolio.What would you do if your broker decided to move to a new firm? Would you follow them?

What if you’re a broker who wants to change firms for good cause?

Silver Law Group represents investors and individual financial advisors in claims against brokerage firms for misconduct relating to failure to properly disclose the reasons for a brokers termination, claims of harassment or misconduct by the brokerage against the financial advisor and investors who have been harmed when brokerage firms fail to advise the client that a broker has been terminated for cause or damage to investor’s portfolio. Continue reading ›

Dana Vietor (Dana Bruce Vietor CRD# 873129) is a previously registered broker whose last known employer was CFD Investments, Inc. (CRD#:25427) of Dallas, TX. His previous employers include Oakbridge Financial Services (CRD#:16323, expelled by FINRA in 2016) of Nisswa, MN, Cape Securities Inc. (CRD#:7072) of Irving, TX, and Allied Beacon Partners, Inc. (CRD#:46227, expelled by FINRA in 2013) of Independence, Iowa.  He has been in the industry since 1981.  FINRA began an investigation into Vietor’s records, discovering that he engaged in the sale of promissory notes that were called “deposit agreements.” According to the allegations, these agreements totaled over $3 million. However, Vietor failed to disclose this information to the investors. He also did not receive written approval from his member firm for these private security transactions.  According to FINRA’s investigation findings, Vietor, along with his other business partners, engaged in a startup business venture in need of funding. These deposit agreements raised the needed capital for these entities associated with the startup. Because Vietor is part of the management team for these entities, and he has membership interests in each one, Vietor also received indirect selling compensation while involved in these private transactions.Dana Vietor (Dana Bruce Vietor CRD# 873129) is a previously registered broker whose last known employer was CFD Investments, Inc. (CRD#:25427) of Dallas, TX. His previous employers include Oakbridge Financial Services (CRD#:16323, expelled by FINRA in 2016) of Nisswa, MN, Cape Securities Inc. (CRD#:7072) of Irving, TX, and Allied Beacon Partners, Inc. (CRD#:46227, expelled by FINRA in 2013) of Independence, Iowa.  He has been in the industry since 1981. Continue reading ›

James Dunn (James William Dunn, Jr. CRD#: 6084258) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last known employer was Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC (CRD#:6363) of Vienna, VA. He was previously employed with Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC (CRD#:19616) of Arlington, VA, and Morgan Stanley (CRD#:149777) of McLean, VA. He has been in the industry since 2012. In Dunn's 10-year career, he has a total of 20 disclosures in his FINRA record. One of those disclosures is his employment separation from Ameriprise, filed on 10/19/2021. According to his entry in BrokerCheck, Dunn voluntarily resigned “while under review for potential violation of company policy related to suitability, unauthorized trades and texting with clients.” No other information is available, and there are not yet any FINRA disciplinary actions. Of Dunn’s remaining 19 customer dispute disclosures, five are still pending. The remaining 14 have been settled with millions of dollars involved. Of the 19 disclosures, 17 disclosures indicate that Dunn purchased securities and customer accounts without the customer's specific written authorization. Some were inappropriate for the customers’ investment objectives, and still others were equity securities. Two customer disputes, filed on 8/29/2021 and 9/5/2021 allege that Dunn executed unauthorized trades in foreign securities. The first dispute is still pending, and requests damages of $1,156,433.99. The later dispute requested damages of $90,541.66 and has been settled for $100,915.49.

James William Dunn, Jr. (CRD#: 6084258) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last known employer was Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC (CRD#:6363) of Vienna, VA. He was previously employed with Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC (CRD#:19616) of Arlington, VA, and Morgan Stanley (CRD#:149777) of McLean, VA. He has been in the industry since 2012. Continue reading ›

William LeBoeuf (CRD#: 2464080, aka “William W. Le Boeuf,” “Bill LeBeouf,” “William Walter LeBeouf”) is a former broker and investment adviser whose last known employer was Cetera Advisor Networks LLC (CRD#:13572) of Beavercreek, OH. His previous employer employers include Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD#:7691) of Miamisburg, OH, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (CRD#:149777) and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CRD#:7059) of Dayton, OH.  He has been in the industry since 1994.  LeBoeuf has only two disclosures in his FINRA CRD. The first one is his termination from Cetera Advisor Networks on 11/21/2019. Cetera discharged him after discovering that he had violated firm policies by participating in private securities transactions without prior firm approval.  LeBoeuf had begun conducting these transactions separate from his previous employment with Merrill Lynch. He first solicited a firm client via his personal email account. LeBoeuf also emailed a presentation to his potential investors without clearly explaining the risks of the investment.  William LeBoeuf (CRD#: 2464080, aka “William W. Le Boeuf,” “Bill LeBeouf,” “William Walter LeBeouf”) is a former broker and investment adviser whose last known employer was Cetera Advisor Networks LLC (CRD#:13572) of Beavercreek, OH. His previous employer employers include Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD#:7691) of Miamisburg, OH, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (CRD#:149777) and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CRD#:7059) of Dayton, OH.  He has been in the industry since 1994. Continue reading ›

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for February 2022, the following individuals were suspended from FINRA and cannot currently work for a FINRA brokerage firm for failing to provide FINRA with information it requested or to keep information current with FINRA pursuant to FINRA rules. However, these individuals remain bound by the securities arbitration agreement to arbitrate any disputes between themselves and their former customers:

NAME FORMER EMPLOYERS
  Antonio Bestard   Edward Jones
  Morgan Stanley
  Kevin Burckhard   Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC
  Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated
  Odalis Duran   J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
  Chase Investment Services Corp.
  Travis Eiland   HD Vest Investment Services
  Jeremy Fortner   Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
  Thomas Hagan   Morgan Stanley
  Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC
  Forrest Jones   Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
  Fortune Financial Services, Inc.
  Evan Jordan   J.P Morgan Securities LLC
  AXA Advisors, LLC
  Marc Korsch   Arkadios Capital
  Centaurus Financial, Inc.
  Jun Ouyang   Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC
  Bryan Richey   NYLife Securities LLC
  Pruco Securities, LLC
  Dennis Riordan   Aeon Capital Inc.
  Rothschild Lieberman LLC
  Ebony Staples

Continue reading ›

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for February 2022, 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
  Christ Baltas   Worden Capital Management LLC
  Wilmington Capital Securities, LLC
  Timothy Flynn   Trident Partners Ltd.
  First Montauk Securities Corp.
  Robert Satterfield   Morgan Stanley
  UBS Financial Services Inc.
  George Schmidt, Jr.   Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation
  Horner, Townsend & Kent, Inc.
  Keith Wakefield   IFS Securities
  IFS Capital Markets, LLC

Continue reading ›

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for February 2022, the following individuals were barred from FINRA and cannot currently work for a FINRA brokerage firm for failing to provide FINRA with information it requested or to keep information current with FINRA pursuant to FINRA rules:

NAME FORMER EMPLOYERS
  Joshua Baker   State Farm VP Management Corp.
  Anthony Bookman   Seaport Global Securities, LLC
  Pickwick Capital Partners, LLC
  Bernard Chevalier
  Michael Dorband   Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services Inc.
  U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc.
  Ian Ha   Infinity Financial Services
  AXA Advisors, LLC
  Ikea Huggins
  Narith Long   NYLife Securities LLC
  Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC
  Frank Mathis   Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC
  TD Ameritrade, Inc.
  Christopher Ogbuehi
  Noe Ramirez III   Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
  Chase Investment Services Corp.
  Scarlett Ramsey   NYLife Securities LLC
  Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
  Bobby Sullins   BB&T Securities, LLC
  BB&T Investment Services, Inc.

Continue reading ›

Robert Anthony Guidicipietro (CRD#: 1588069, aka “Robert A. Peters”) is a currently registered broker and investment advisor employed at Alexander Capital, L.P. (CRD#: 40077) of New York, NY. His previous employers include Arive Capital Markets (CRD#:8060) of Bay Ridge, NY, Aegis Capital Corp. (CRD#:15007), Holmdel, NJ, and Obsidian Financial Group, LLC (CRD#:104255, expelled by FINRA on 10/16/2013) of Red Bank, NJ. He has been in the industry since 1991.  The most recent allegation of misconduct came from Guidicipietro’s tenure at Arive. From January 2019 through November 2019, Guidicipietro engaged in “excessive and unsuitable trading, including the use of margin” in the account of an elderly investor. The client, a 78-year-old retired supervisor from New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority, had a conservative investment objective and was not a seasoned investor.  Guidicipietro then recommended to the client that he place a total of 56 trades in his account, all of which were on margin. Because the account setup with a cost-to-equity ratio of 34 required the customer’s account to grow by more than 34% to break even, the customer ultimately lost $35,219.74 in fees and commissions.Robert Anthony Guidicipietro (CRD#: 1588069, aka “Robert A. Peters”) is a currently registered broker and investment advisor employed at Alexander Capital, L.P. (CRD#: 40077) of New York, NY. His previous employers include Arive Capital Markets (CRD#:8060) of Bay Ridge, NY, Aegis Capital Corp. (CRD#:15007), Holmdel, NJ, and Obsidian Financial Group, LLC (CRD#:104255, expelled by FINRA on 10/16/2013) of Red Bank, NJ. He has been in the industry since 1991. Continue reading ›

Alan Appelbaum (Alan Zelig Appelbaum, CRD#: 500336) is a previously-registered broker who last worked for Aegis Capital Corp. in their Boca Raton, FL office. Appelbaum previously worked for Herbert J. Sims & Co. Inc., Ryan, Beck & Co., LLC, Gruntal & Co., LLC, and several other firms. He had been in the industry since 1976. Aegis Financial In Boca Raton, Florida FINRA recently ordered Aegis Capital Corp. to Pay $1.7 Million in restitution to customers whose accounts were excessively and unsuitably traded commonly referred to as churning. Also, two supervisors were fined and a supervisor was suspended for failing to respond to red flags and a financial advisor was sanctioned. Excessive trading frequently leads to customer losses because the fees and commissions reduce the principal value of the account and requires even greater profits for the investor to break even. Aegis has been the subject of multiple securities arbitration claims involving allegations of excessive trading, churning and unsuitable recommendations. Alan Appelbaum – Boca Raton Florida- Aegis Financial Appelbaum has 18 disclosures on his publicly-available FINRA BrokerCheck report, including 14 customer disputes: May, 2021: A customer dispute alleged unsuitable investments and requested $550,000 in damages. The dispute is pending as of this writing.

Alan Appelbaum (Alan Zelig Appelbaum, CRD# 500336) is a previously registered broker who last worked for Aegis Capital Corp. in their Boca Raton, FL office. Appelbaum previously worked for Herbert J. Sims & Co. Inc., Ryan, Beck & Co., LLC, Gruntal & Co., LLC, and several other firms. He had been in the industry since 1976. Continue reading ›

If Emerson Equity sold you an L Bond from GWG Holdings, Silver Law Group may be able to help you recover your investment losses.  Silver Law Group currently represents GWG L Bonds investors. Please contact us at 800-975-4345 for a no-cost, confidential consultation.  Emerson Equity works with GWG to sell L Bonds to the investors. Some investors have already retained counsel to pursue FINRA arbitration claims against their financial advisor, alleging that reasonable due diligence was not conducted into the product or that the bonds were unsuitable for them.  Silver Law Group has spoken to investors who claim their Emerson Equity advisor told them that GWG L Bonds were a safe and secure source of income. In reality, L Bonds involve considerable risk and speculation. They are also illiquid, meaning investors aren’t able to convert them to cash easily.If Emerson Equity sold you an L Bond from GWG Holdings, Silver Law Group may be able to help you recover your investment losses.

Silver Law Group currently represents GWG L Bonds investors. Please contact us at 800-975-4345 for a no-cost, confidential consultation. Continue reading ›

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