Former Financial Telesis Broker Christopher Ariola Under Scrutiny by FINRA

Allegations include unsuitable investing for concentrating elderly retiree investments in gold and energy stocks

Christopher Ariola has 16 years of experience in the securities industry, most recently with Financial Telesis, Inc. in Aliso Viejo, California. While Ariola is currently not registered as a broker or investment advisor, there remain four official customer disputes registered against him, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck website.

The pending customer disputes go back as far as August of 2012 and damages requested exceed $500,000.00 as a result of Ariola’s alleged actions. Some of the allegations against him include:

• Churning: The practice of buying and selling within a customer’s account for the purpose of generating broker commissions, regardless of the customer’s best interests.

• Unsuitability: When a broker recommends an investment that does not coincide with the investor’s objectives, financial situation, or level of risk tolerance.

• Unauthorized trading: When a broker obtains access to a customer’s account and engages in trading activity within that account without providing proper notice to the customer and/or brokerage firm.

Prior to his employment with Financial Telesis, Inc. from November 2012 to September 2014, Ariola was employed by:

• Bay Mutual Financial, LLC in Santa Monica, CA from September 2004 to November

• Wachovia Securities, LLC in St. Louis, MO from July 2003 to October 2004

• Prudential Securities Incorporated in New York, NY from March 2001 to July 2003

• Equity Trust Advisors, Inc. in Irvine, CA from May 2000 to March 2001

• Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. in Purchase, NY from October 1997 to May 2000

If you enlisted the services of broker Christopher Ariola and have suffered losses as a result of this relationship, you may be able to recover some or all of your losses through securities arbitration. You can find out more about the allegations against him by reviewing his BrokerCheck Report, a complimentary service provided by FINRA.

Silver Law Group specializes in fighting for clients who have lost investments at the hands of brokers and financial advisors who have taken advantage of their positions. Scott Silver is the current chair of the American Trial Lawyers Association Securities and Financial Fraud Group and our expert legal team represents clients in securities law arbitration cases to help them recover funds and get a sense of justice. We operate on a contingency fee basis, so our team does not profit unless we recover your funds.

If you think that your investments have been mismanaged or if you are concerned because you worked with a broker like Christopher Ariola who has been the subject of FINRA suspensions or bans, contact our team at 1-800-975-4345. We will sit down with you, listen to your story, and develop a plan to assess your situation and legal recourse.