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Gregory Williams (Gregory Jon Williams CRD#: 1561089) is a previously registered broker and investment advisor whose last known employer was Forta Financial Group, Inc. (CRD#:28784) of Greenwood Village, CO. His previous employers include Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (CRD#:149777) and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CRD#:7059) of Denver, CO, and Banc One Securities Corporation (CRD#:16999) of Chicago, IL. He has been in the industry since 1986. Williams is currently the subject of four pending customer disputes with nearly identical allegations of unsuitability, misrepresentation, and negligence. The claims were filed between 3/31/2020 and 10/26/2020. The collective requested damages total $1,349,000. In two of the four claims, the firm denies the claims and will defend themselves. A previous customer dispute filed on 3/29/2020 involving multiple claimants also included allegations of unsuitability, negligence, fraud, and misrepresentation. This case went into FINRA arbitration. Although the six claimants requested damages of $578,821.00, ultimately, only two of the claimants were awarded anything, damages totaling $45,818.00. The other four claimants were denied damages.

Gregory Williams (Gregory Jon Williams, CRD# 1561089) is a previously registered broker and investment advisor whose last known employer was Forta Financial Group, Inc. (CRD#:28784) of Greenwood Village, CO. His previous employers include Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (CRD#:149777) and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CRD#:7059) of Denver, CO, and Banc One Securities Corporation (CRD#:16999) of Chicago, IL. He has been in the industry since 1986. Continue reading ›

David Bibo (David Omori Bibo CRD#: 2602436) is a registered broker currently employed with WESTERN INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES, INC. (CRD#: 39262) of San Jose, CA. He was previously employed with Myclearing.Com (CRD#:104161) and Interfirst Capital Corporation (CRD#:7659), both of Los Angeles, and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD#:7691) of New York, NY. He has been in the industry since 1995. Bibo is the subject of two currently pending customer disputes regarding unsuitable recommendations. The first, filed on 12/18/2019, requests damages in the amount of $1,500,000. The second, filed on 9/22/2020, requests $300,000 in damages. Two previous filed on 5/15/2019 with concerns over “reasonableness of investment” requested $50,000 each. These claims were both denied.David Bibo (David Omori Bibo CRD#: 2602436) is a registered broker currently employed with WESTERN INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES, INC. (CRD#: 39262) of San Jose, CA. He was previously employed with Myclearing.Com (CRD#:104161) and Interfirst Capital Corporation (CRD#:7659), both of Los Angeles, and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD#:7691) of New York, NY. He has been in the industry since 1995. Continue reading ›

Wayne Miller (Wayne Ivan Miller CRD#: 4813645) is a registered broker and previously registered investment advisor currently employed with Aeon Capital Inc. (CRD#: 164004) of Scottsdale, AZ. His previous employers include American Asset Advisory, LLC (CRD#:168444), Accelerated Capital Group (CRD#:41270, expelled by FINRA on 11/26/2019) and Longview Financial Group, Inc. (CRD#:38286), also of Scottsdale. He has been in the industry since 2004.  Wayne Miller Disclosures  Miller is the subject of eight disclosures, seven of which are related to his tenure at the now-defunct  Accelerated Capital Group. He was named in these disputes due to being named “owner and control person” while at ACG until he left on 2/2/2018. Miller left the firm more than a year before the firm was expelled by FINRA for misleading advertising and failing to establish and maintain a supervisory system. Before its expulsion, the firm was subjected to censures and fines for misconduct.  The most recent was filed on 9/25/2020, and alleged “unsuitable placements of alternative investments,” with requested damages of $13,204,427.00. Miller was not the broker of record, and denies the allegations. This claim is pending.Wayne Miller (Wayne Ivan Miller CRD#: 4813645) is a registered broker and previously registered investment advisor currently employed with Aeon Capital Inc. (CRD#: 164004) of Scottsdale, AZ. His previous employers include American Asset Advisory, LLC (CRD#:168444), Accelerated Capital Group (CRD#:41270, expelled by FINRA on 11/26/2019) and Longview Financial Group, Inc. (CRD#:38286), also of Scottsdale. He has been in the industry since 2004. Continue reading ›

James Couture (James Kenneth Couture CRD#: 4460284) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last known employer was LPL Financial LLC (CRD#:6413) of Worchester, MA. His previous employers included Lincoln Financial Securities Corporation (CRD#:3870), also of Worchester, MA, New England Securities (CRD#:615) of New York, NY, and Morgan Stanley DW Inc. (CRD#:7556) of Purchase, NY. He has been in the industry since 2001.  LPL Financial discharged Couture on 6/17/2020 after discovering that he had:  Changed identifying information, account balances and distributions in customer account statements Maintained and comingled customer funds Used an unapproved email addressJames Couture (James Kenneth Couture CRD#: 4460284) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last known employer was LPL Financial LLC (CRD#:6413) of Worchester, MA. His previous employers included Lincoln Financial Securities Corporation (CRD#:3870), also of Worchester, MA, New England Securities (CRD#:615) of New York, NY, and Morgan Stanley DW Inc. (CRD#:7556) of Purchase, NY. He has been in the industry since 2001. Continue reading ›

Edward Matthes (Edward Earl Matthes CRD:# 2788055, aka “Ed Matthes”) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last known employer was Mutual Of Omaha Investor Services, Inc. (CRD#:611) of Oconomowoc, WI. Previous employers include Thrivent Investment Management Inc. (CRD#:18387), also of Oconomowoc, MML Investors Services, Inc. (CRD#:10409) of Chesterfield, MO, and Thrivent Investment Management Inc. (CRD#:18387) of Minneapolis, MN. He has been in the industry since 1996. Matthes is the subject of 25 disclosures dating back to 2005. The most recent disclosures leading to charges began on 3/12/2019 after he was dismissed from Mutual of Omaha. The firm alleged that he created fictitious account statements for clients and deposited client money into his own bank accounts. The FBI began an investigation three days after Matthes’ termination, on 3/15/2019.Edward Matthes (Edward Earl Matthes CRD:# 2788055, aka “Ed Matthes”) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last known employer was Mutual Of Omaha Investor Services, Inc. (CRD#:611) of Oconomowoc, WI. Previous employers include Thrivent Investment Management Inc. (CRD#:18387), also of Oconomowoc, MML Investors Services, Inc. (CRD#:10409) of Chesterfield, MO, and Thrivent Investment Management Inc. (CRD#:18387) of Minneapolis, MN. He has been in the industry since 1996. Continue reading ›

Timothy Engelmann (CRD#: 4933563 Timothy Aaron Engelmann) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last known employer was LPL Financial LLC (CRD#:6413) of Albuquerque, NM. His previous employers include Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD#:7691) and Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC (CRD#:19616), also of Albuquerque, and Wells Fargo Investments, LLC (CRD#:10582) of Tucson, AZ. He has been in the industry since 2005.  LPL Financial discharged Engelmann on 11/29/2019 after discovering that he twice violated the firm’s policy regarding borrowing money from clients. The firm filed a Form U5 indicating that he had been terminated regarding the policy.Timothy Engelmann (CRD#: 4933563 Timothy Aaron Engelmann) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last known employer was LPL Financial LLC (CRD#:6413) of Albuquerque, NM. His previous employers include Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD#:7691) and Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC (CRD#:19616), also of Albuquerque, and Wells Fargo Investments, LLC (CRD#:10582) of Tucson, AZ. He has been in the industry since 2005. Continue reading ›

Pratul Agnihotri (CRD#: 4031797, aka “Victor Agnihotri”) is a previously registered broker whose last known employer was SW Financial (CRD#:145012) of Melville, NY. His previous employers included Spartan Capital Securities, LLC (CRD#:146251) of New York, NY, Aegis Capital Corp. (CRD#:15007) of Melville, NY, and Gunnallen Financial, Inc (CRD#:17609) of New York, NY.  Four of Agnihotri’s previous employers have been expelled by FINRA.  He has been in the industry since 1999.  While affiliated with Aegis, and then Spartan, Agnihotri engaged in an outside business activity (OBA) by forming a company called Exergizer, a company selling a piece of exercise equipment. He also became the company’s CEO. Agnihotri failed to notify both of his employers about this non-firm activity as required by FINRA’s Rule 3270.  Aegis’ policy requires the firm to be notified of all non-firm activity in writing. During his tenure from February 2015 through October 2017, Agnihotri failed to notify Aegis of his involvement with Exergizer. He also answered “no” to the question of OBAs on his compliance questionnaires in 2015 and 2015.Pratul Agnihotri (CRD#: 4031797, aka “Victor Agnihotri”) is a previously registered broker whose last known employer was SW Financial (CRD#:145012) of Melville, NY. His previous employers included Spartan Capital Securities, LLC (CRD#:146251) of New York, NY, Aegis Capital Corp. (CRD#:15007) of Melville, NY, and Gunnallen Financial, Inc (CRD#:17609) of New York, NY.

Four of Agnihotri’s previous employers have been expelled by FINRA.  He has been in the industry since 1999. Continue reading ›

Narinder Singh (Narinder Kaur Singh CRD:# 3100308, aka “Narinder Dutt”) is a previously registered broker whose last known employer was Farmers Financial Solutions, LLC (CRD#:103863) of Sacramento, CA. Her previous employers include Proequities, Inc. (CRD#:15708), Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc (CRD#:16164) and Oneamerica Securities, Inc. (CRD#:4173), all of Elk Grove, CA.  She has been in the industry since 1998.  FINRA’s investigation began in October of 2019 after both Transamerica and Proequities filed Form U5 amendments indicating that there was a pending arbitration filed by a customer alleging that Singh invested their funds into a fraudulent investment. Farmers’ then terminated Singh’s registration with a Form U5 filed on November 6, 2019.  Singh initially cooperated with the FINRA investigation, but on August 18, she indicated in a phone call with FINRA staff that she would not provide on-the-record testimony at any time. Therefore, FINRA barred Singh indefinitely as of 8/28/2020.Narinder Singh (Narinder Kaur Singh CRD:# 3100308, aka “Narinder Dutt”) is a previously registered broker whose last known employer was Farmers Financial Solutions, LLC (CRD#:103863) of Sacramento, CA. Her previous employers include Proequities, Inc. (CRD#:15708), Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc (CRD#:16164) and Oneamerica Securities, Inc. (CRD#:4173), all of Elk Grove, CA.  She has been in the industry since 1998. Continue reading ›

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for December 2020, 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
  Jamie Bennett   Silber Bennett Financial, Inc.
  Silver Portal Capital LLC
  Chelsea Flohr   J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
  Jon Foster   Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  Mark Grenier   David Lerner Associates, Inc.
  Maxim Group LLC
  Dorinda Lumpkin   BBVA Securities Inc.
  Jorge Pica   Suntrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc.
  Stephens Inc.
  Aaron Pierett   Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
  Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  Alexander Walker   Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC

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According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for December 2020, 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
  Michael Albarella   HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.
  People’s Securities, Inc.
  Dean Grosskreutz   Allstate Financial Services, LLC
  Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc.

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