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Articles Posted in Stockbroker Misconduct

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German Nino (CRD#: 2653707, aka, “German Nio”), is a former broker and investment advisor last employed with UBS of Coral Gables, FL. His earlier employers include HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. (CRD#:19585), also of Coral Gables, Atlas One Financial Group, LLC (CRD#:124057) of Miami, and A. G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. (CRD#:4) of St. Louis, MO.  He has been in the industry since 1995. This case highlights the problem of brokers stealing clients money violating the trust investors put in their financial advisor and exemplifies many of the red flags that investors need to look out for including brokers who use bogus paperwork, false statements and make bizarre excuses to lull a client into a false sense of security. Our attorneys have represented multiple investors who have lost money by brokers stealing from accounts or directly asking clients for loans or investments in their personal projects.  FINRA rules and regulations prohibit this type of borrowing from a client and brokerage firms have a duty to supervise this type of activity. Nino, aged 56, has one disclosure on his record. Filed on 7/13/2020, it alleges that from February 23rd, 2018, to July 13, 2020, Nino manipulated the account of a high wealth client to prevent them from knowing that he was stealing more than $5.8 million from them. The client invested a total of $11 million with UBS. Nino worked for UBS from 2012 through 2020, when he resigned.German Nino (CRD#: 2653707, aka, “German Nio”), is a former broker and investment advisor last employed with UBS of Coral Gables, FL. His earlier employers include HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. (CRD#:19585), also of Coral Gables, Atlas One Financial Group, LLC (CRD#:124057) of Miami, and A. G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. (CRD#:4) of St. Louis, MO. He has been in the industry since 1995. Continue reading ›

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According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for January 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
  Arely Alvarez   Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc
  Bradley Holts   World Capital Brokerage, Inc.
  Supreme Alliance LLC
  Jason Kai   Vanguard Marketing Corporation
  Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.
  Ahmad Khalil   Allstate Financial Services, LLC
  Nicholas Kraiko   National Securities Corporation
  Princor Financial Services Corporation
  Reynold Neufeld   Centaurus Financial, Inc.
  LPL Financial Corporation
  Juanita O’Neal   TD Ameritrade, Inc.
  Stacie Orr   Allstate Financial Services, LLC
  Ryan Ott   Equitable Advisors, LLC
  AXA Advisors, LLC
  Andre Senegal   OneAmerica Securities, Inc.
  NYLife Securities LLC
  Kyle Stevens   SECU Brokerage Services
  Timothy Williams   Edward Jones

Continue reading ›

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According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for January 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
  John Boatright   Newbridge Securities Corporation
  Summit Brokerage Services, Inc.
  Keri Fazio   MML Investors Services, LLC
  Austin Fox   Cetera Investment Services LLC
  Corecap Investments, Inc.
  Melissa Gilcrease   Allstate Financial Services, LLC
  Jan Haynes   Integrity Brokerage Services, Inc.
  Centaurus Financial, Inc.
  Bethany Hewett   Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC
  Marcus Moon   NYLife Securities LLC
  Lisa Robinson   J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
  Diane Simmons   Horace Mann Investors, Inc.
  Jordan Whitacre   Arkadios Capital
  Triad Advisors, Inc.

Continue reading ›

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According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for January 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
  Michael Gardner   Cantor Fitzgerald & Co
  J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
  Ganesh Iyer   Morgan Stanley
  LPL Financial LLC
  Calvin Kleinmann   Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC
  Christopher Pierce   Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
  Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.
  Jared Poe   Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
  Morgan Stanley & Co Incorporated
  Yousuf Salijooki   Wordon Capital Management LLC
  Salomon Whitney Financial
  Dudley Stephens   Coastal Equities, Inc.
  Prospera Financial Services, Inc.
  Bhaskar Vyas   Interfirst Capital Corporation
  Western International Securities, Inc.

Continue reading ›

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According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for December 2021, 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
  Jeremy Bahls   NYLife Securities LLC
  Joshua Baker   State Farm VP Management Corp.
  Kameise Bickham
  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
  Gregory Hanshew   Infinity Financial Services
  CIM Securities, LLC
  Jordan John   TD Ameritrade, Inc.
  Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  Frank Mathis   Fidelity Brokerage Services LLCV
  TD Ameritrade, Inc.
  Ronald Molo   Edward Jones
  Christopher Ogbuehi
  Robert Paterson   Truist Investment Services, Inc.
  BB&T Securities, LLC
  Noe Ramirez III   Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner && Smith Incorporated
  Chase Investment Services Corp.
  Nathaniel Robinson   J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
  Bobby Sullins   BB&T Securities, LLC
  BB&T Investment Services, Inc.
  Herbert Weith IV   Equitable Advisors, LLC
  Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC

Continue reading ›

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According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for December 2021, 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
  Omer Ali-Taha   BB&T Investment Services, Inc.
  Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
  Berkley Badger   Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
  Invest Financial Corporation
  John Carlson   Capital Financial Services, Inc.
  Voyager Capital Management, LLC
  Derek D’Alonzo   Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
  SunTrust Advisory Services, Inc.
  William Friedman   Pinnacle Investments, LLC
  Woodstock Financial Group, Inc.
  Harold Harrison   Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation
  UBS Financial Services Inc.
  Steven Knuttila   Capital Financial Services, Inc.
  Questar Capital Corporation
  Gaetano Magarelli   Newbridge Securities Corporation
  Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
  Sean Martin   Raymond James & Associates, Inc.
  Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

Continue reading ›

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BrokersBrokers and financial advisors are under a fiduciary duty to put the client first—a relationship that gets muddied whether the loan is in writing or not. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has a rule in place prohibiting a broker from borrowing or lending money to customers in most instances. There are few exceptions to FINRA Rule 3240, which forbids customer loans unless the customer is “in the business of providing credit or loans,” or the customer and broker are members of the same immediate family. FINRA’s Rule 3240 defines immediate family as “parents, grandparents, mother-in-law or father-in-law, husband or wife, brother or sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, son-in law or daughter-in-law, children, grandchildren, cousin, aunt or uncle, or niece or nephew, and any other person whom the registered person supports, directly or indirectly, to a material extent.” Unfortunately, brokers routinely violate FINRA rules, borrowing money from unsuspecting clients while failing to disclose these deals to their financial institutions as required. Rule 3240 requires brokers to report customer loans to their financial institutions and get consent beforehand in writing. And even when brokers repay a customer’s loan in full, FINRA prohibits the transaction. While registered investment advisors (RIAs) are not governed by FINRA Rule 3240, they still have a fiduciary duty to put the customer’s financial interest first, which similarly precludes their borrowing money from clients. and financial advisors are under a fiduciary duty to put the client first—a relationship that gets muddied whether the loan is in writing or not. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has a rule in place prohibiting a broker from borrowing or lending money to customers in most instances. Continue reading ›

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Jerry Rice (CRD#: 375290) is a previously registered broker advisor whose last known employer was Raymond James Financial Services (CRD#: 6694) of Tinton Falls, New Jersey. His previous employers include Robert Thomas Securities (CRD#: 10147) of St. Petersburg, FL, Smith Barney (CRD#: 7059) of New York City and Lehman Brothers (CRD#: 7506), also of New York City. He has been in the industry since 1968. Jerry Rice was allowed to voluntarily resign from Raymond James after it was discovered that he received monetary gifts in excess of the yearly limits from one of his elderly clients, an 89-year-old widow. He and several family members received a total of $477,000 from this client. However, like many FINRA broker dealers, Raymond James prohibits such gifts and bequests due to a conflict of interest. From 2013 through 2017, Jerry Rice attested in his yearly compliance questionnaires that he understood that brokers were strictly prohibited from receiving monetary gifts from clients without the firm’s permission. Brokers are also prohibited from being named beneficiaries in their wills. Should the broker discover that they have been unknowingly named, he or she is required to immediately notify the firm. The exception is if the client is also an immediate relative.Jerry Rice (CRD#: 375290) is a previously registered broker/advisor whose last known employer was Raymond James Financial Services (CRD#: 6694) of Tinton Falls, New Jersey. His previous employers include Robert Thomas Securities (CRD#: 10147) of St. Petersburg, FL, Smith Barney (CRD#: 7059) of New York City and Lehman Brothers (CRD#: 7506), also of New York City. He has been in the industry since 1968. Continue reading ›

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