Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog

FINRA Bars Stifel Nicolaus Broker John M. James After Refusing To Testify

June 1, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Former broker John M. James (CRD #4609872) has been barred after failing to provide on-the-record testimony involving allegations from a previous employer. His refusal put him in violation of FINRA Rules 8210 and 2010.

James was last employed with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (CRD#:793) Of Golden Valley, MN. James was previously employed with:

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD#:7691) of Wayzata, MN, from 06/16/2006 to 03/24/2016

Centaurus Financial

June 1, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Centaurus Financial has been the recipient of multiple FINRA actions, including 11 regulatory events and 8 reported arbitration claims. Not all of these are major issues, but they could be relevant to an investor doing business with Centaurus.

The SEC has strict rules about how a broker-dealer operates, runs their business and keeps records; any variation from these rules can trigger a sanction or other regulatory process. Centaurus has been the subject of multiple sanctions for various infractions and disputes filed by customers. For these regulatory sanctions, the company has paid $532,156.62 in penalties, fines and fees over the years. In some cases, there were no financial products involved or sold, only regulatory violations.

Centaurus has paid out $3,064,930.66 in securities arbitration awards and judgments.

Silver Law Group is Investigating Lawrence Hagedorn of Ascend Financial Services, Inc.

May 31, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Lawrence Hagedorn is barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Respondent failed to request termination of his suspension within three months of the date of the Notice of Suspension; therefore, he is automatically barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Lawrence Hagedorn was registered with O.N. Equity Sales Company.

Contact Our Firm if You’ve Invested with Lawrence Hagedorn

If you invested with Lawrence Hagedorn and believe you have lost money due to his misconduct, you may be able to file a claim to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration. For a free evaluation of your potential case by as securities attorney, please contact Silver Law Group.

Silver Law Group is Investigating Larry Wolfe of Herbert J. Sims & Co., Inc.

May 31, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Larry Wolfe is barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Respondent failed to request termination of his suspension within three months of the date of the Notice of Suspension; therefore, he is automatically barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity.

Wolfe consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he exercised discretion in the accounts of customers, by submitting sell orders to sell one particular security in each customer account without obtaining prior written authorization from the customers or written approval of the accounts as discretionary from his member firm.

Contact Our Firm if You’ve Invested with Larry Wolfe

Silver Law Group is Investigating Marcus Parker of Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC

May 30, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Marcus Parker was barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities. Without admitting or denying the findings, Parker consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he refused to respond to FINRA’s requests for documents and information in connection with its investigation of Parker’s termination from his member firm. The findings stated that according to the firm’s Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration (Form U5) filing, it terminated Parker’s registration for his failure to appear for an interview and be questioned about misappropriations from client accounts.

Contact Our Firm if You’ve Invested with Marcus Parker

If you invested with Marcus Parker or Wells Fargo and believe you have lost money due to his misconduct, you may be able to file a claim to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration. For a free evaluation of your potential case by as securities attorney, please contact Silver Law Group. FINRA or securities arbitration can be a fast way to recover investment losses.

Silver Law Group is Investigating Jeffrey Palish of Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC for Elder Financial Fraud

May 30, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Jeffrey Palish was barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities. Without admitting or denying the findings, Palish, a former Wells Fargo stockbroker, consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that over approximately three years, he converted more than $180,000 for his personal use from an elderly customer by accepting the money with no intent or ability to repay the customer.

Contact Our Firm if You’ve Invested with Jeffrey Palish

If you invested with Jeffrey Palish and believe you have lost money due to his misconduct, you may be able to file a claim to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration. For a free evaluation of your potential case by as securities attorney, please contact Silver Law Group. Our attorneys have extensive experience with elder financial fraud and representing victims of elder investment fraud.

Silver Law Group is Investigating Truitt Ficklin of Cetera Investment Services LLC

May 30, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Truitt Ficklin, a former financial advisor with Cetera Investment Services, LLC, is barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Respondent failed to request termination of his suspension within three months of the date of the Notice of Suspension; therefore, he is automatically barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity.

Contact Our Firm if You’ve Invested with Truitt Ficklin of Cetera Investment Services, LLC

If you invested with Truitt Ficklin and believe you have lost money due to his misconduct, you may be able to file a claim to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration. For a free evaluation of your potential case by as securities attorney, please contact Silver Law Group.

Silver Law Group is Investigating Phillip Johnson of SunTrust Investment Services, Inc.

May 30, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Phillip Johnson was assessed by FINRA a deferred fine of $5,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in all capacities for three months. Without admitting or denying the findings, Johnson, a previous advisor with SunTrust Investment Services and DH Hill Securities, consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he borrowed $528,000 from a customer, but failed to notify or obtain written approval of the loan in advance from his member firm. The findings stated that Johnson made an inaccurate statement on firm compliance questionnaires related to borrowing from a firm customer. The brokerage firm did not permit loans between registered persons and customers who were not close family members. Johnson and the customer are not family members.

Contact Our Firm if You’ve Invested with Phillip Johnson or your Financial Advisor Improperly Borrowed Money

If you invested with Phillip Johnson and believe you have lost money due to his misconduct, you may be able to file a claim to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration. For a free evaluation of your potential case by as securities attorney, please contact Silver Law Group. Stockbrokers are in a unique position of trust and are rarely allowed to borrow money from clients.

Scott Silver Speaks at Class Action Mastery and Mass Tort Med School Conference

May 30, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Scott Silver was happy to address a packed room of accomplished class action and mass tort lawyers to discuss securities and investment fraud cases and handling FINRA arbitration claims. HB Litigation Conferences is a leading conference coordinator and coordinated a unique conference in the NASDAQ building in Times Square. Scott’s talk focused on elder financial fraud cases, representing investors in securities or FINRA arbitration claims and potential future stockbroker misconduct cases. As a recognized leader in securities arbitration, Scott is a passionate investor advocate, a proponent of improving the FINRA arbitration process and primarily represents investors in securities arbitration claims.

Silver Law Group is one of New York City’s top law firms for representing investors in securities and FINRA arbitration claims. Our attorneys have years of experience and are admitted to practice in Florida and New York representing investors nationwide. If you need a speaker on securities and investment fraud matters, please contact Scott Silver at ssilver@silverlaw.com and visit us at www.silverlaw.com.

Credit Unions Aim to Stop Elder Financial Fraud

May 30, 2018 | Silver Law Group

A new program has launched with the goal of educating everyone about this problem

According to a 2017 survey conducted by the Cooperative Credit Union Association (CCUA), two-thirds of caregivers reported that they had an elderly family member who at one time or another was a target of some sort of fraud or scam. In addition, 28 percent of older people were victims of a scam.

The survey also revealed that only 4 percent of seniors had ever taken a financial literacy class. Overall, almost 40 percent of respondents believed their older relatives were “somewhat” or “not at all” financially literate.