Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog

Former Transamerica Financial Advisors Broker Robert Perta Under Investigation After Customer Files a $4.2 Million Complaint

June 14, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former Illinois-based Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc. broker Robert Perta (CRD# 536528) after a customer filed a claim alleging over $4.2 million in damages.

The complaint, filed in the Federal Court in December 2017, alleges that Perta was involved with a scheme to misappropriate investor money by FINRA-barred broker Daniel Glick (CRD# 2175655). Glick, also formerly employed by Transamerica Financial Advisors, allegedly solicited money from investors into his businesses so he could steal money from his customers. Glick allegedly stole the money and covered it up by lying to his customers and, in some cases, manufacturing false account statements. Across all plaintiffs, the complaint alleges approximately $6.5 million in damages.

In January 2018, the SEC reported that Glick pled guilty to one count of wire fraud in the criminal case against him. According to the plea agreement, from at least 2011 through at least 2017, Glick engaged in a fraudulent scheme to benefit himself by defrauding his clients.

South Florida Raymond James Broker Victor T. Connor Under Investigation After Customer Brings $300,000 Complaint Alleging Unsuitability

June 14, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating Wellington, Florida-based Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. (“Raymond James”) broker Victor T. Connor (CRD# 843521).

According to Connor’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, in September 2017, a Raymond James customer brought a FINRA arbitration alleging unsuitable recommendations, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, negligence, and failure to supervise. The complaint alleges approximately $325,000 in damages.

Victor T. Connor’s History in the Industry

Former South Florida-based LPL Financial Broker Pedro O. Diaz Under Investigations After Termination from LPL Financial

June 14, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former Coconut Creek, Florida-based LPL Financial broker Pedro O. Diaz (CRD# 4877003) after LPL Financial discharged him for short-term trading in mutual funds. Short-term trading in mutual funds, according to Diaz’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, a violation of LPL Financial’s policies.

LPL Financial had employed Diaz since March 2010 and terminated him in December 2017. Now, Newbridge Securities Corporation employs Diaz at its Boca Raton, Florida branch.

Diaz, who has been in the securities industry at South Florida brokerage firms for 12 years, also is an insurance agent. Diaz sells fixed annuities and spends 10 percent of his time doing so.

FINRA Bars Former LPL Financial Broker Sonya Camarco After SEC Brings Charges Alleging Misappropriation of $2.8 Million of Client Funds

June 14, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former Colorado Springs, Colorado-based LPL Financial LLC broker Sonya Camarco (CRD# 2427529) after FINRA permanently barred her from the industry.

According to Camarco’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, FINRA barred Camarco in September 2017 after she failed to respond to its inquiry for information.

Sonya Camarco’s Employment with LPL Financial

FINRA-barred New Jersey Broker Robert B. Delguercio Under Investigation Due to 15 Disclosures on his BrokerCheck Report

June 14, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former Herbert J. Sims & Co. Inc. (“HJ Sims”) broker Robert B. Delguercio (CRD# 2639851) after FINRA permanently barred him from the acting as a broker or otherwise associating with a brokerage firm.

According to Delguercio’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, FINRA barred the New Jersey-based broker after he refused to appear for FINRA-requested on-the-record testimony related to a FINRA arbitration claim filed by his customers.

Robert B. Delguercio’s Extensive List of BrokerCheck Disclosures

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Westpark Capital Broker Patrick H. Maddren Under Investigation After Churning Complaint Settles for $300,000

June 14, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating Westpark Capital broker Patrick H. Maddren over churning claims.

Maddren, who is based out of the Fort Lauderdale, Florida Westpark Capital branch was the subject of a customer complaint that settled.

In March 2016, a customer filed a FINRA arbitration alleging that Maddren failed to follow instructions, made material misrepresentations and omissions, excessively traded in order to incur commissions, made unauthorized trades and unsuitable recommendations. The FINRA arbitration settled for almost $300,000.

DeVere Investment Fraud Victims

June 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Recently, there has been an important decision that affects how pension fraud schemes are handled within the United States by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The recent case was filed against DeVere USA, Inc. DeVere USA Inc. has been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission since June 5, 2013 and is incorporated in the State of Florida with its principal place of business in New York. DeVere USA, Inc.’s most recent report revealed that it has over $500 million in assets under management for its clients. If you have utilized DeVere’s USA Inc.’s services and have experienced losses, it is highly recommended that you speak with an attorney to see your potential legal rights for recovering your losses.

Facts of the Case

A case was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission due to DeVere USA, Inc.’s failure to make full and fair disclosure to clients and prospective clients about material conflicts of interest regarding external compensation received from third-party product and service providers. DeVere USA Inc. maintains a list of clients from both the U.S. and the U.K. in which it provided investment guidance to its clients about recommended overseas transfers of U.K. pension plans to overseas retirement plans. The way they justified these transfers was that they qualified under the U.K. tax authority’s regulations as a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS).

Pension Fund Fraud Recovery Attorneys

June 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Bahram-Mirhashemi-Facing-Allegations-of-Elder-Financial-Fraud-300x200 Recently there has been a trend in fraud surrounding various types of pensions. Since individuals can receive extensive incomes annually through various form of pensions, this has attracted misconduct by financial advisors and others frequently in the form of high fees and undisclosed conflicts of interest. It is important for individuals to be aware of the various forms of pension fraud that are occurring in the marketplace today. If you suspect that you have been a victim of any of the pension frauds listed below, it is important to speak with an attorney to see your potential rights of recovery.

Employer Pension Frauds

Employers can commit pension fraud in many different ways. There can be fundamental misrepresentations made about if they have funded pensions, miscalculation of employees’ pension benefits can occur, and they can mismanage pension investments that cause detrimental losses to pension funds. One of the more severe kinds of employer pension fraud that has occurred is when the employer borrows funds from employees’ pension funds to cover losses in the company’s business.

Puerto Rico Bonds Sold by Former Morgan Stanley Broker Angel Aquino

June 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

We recently wrote about securities arbitration claims our securities attorneys are handling involving former Morgan Stanley broker Angel Aquino, (CRD #2687333), while he was a stockbroker with Morgan Stanley. He resigned from the company in July of 2017 after multiple customer complaints and securities arbitration claims. Current customer disputes filed against Aquino currently add up to nearly $12 million. A new related complaint was filed on May 8, 2018 against Aquino and Morgan Stanley (CRD #149777.) He is not currently registered as a broker, and no current employment information is available. Morgan Stanley continues to be subject to multiple claims relating to its recommendation and sale of Puerto Rico bonds.

The complaints stem from Aquino’s heavy emphasis on investments in Puerto Rico Cofina bonds. These are backed by the island’s sales tax revenue, and have triple-tax-free status. They became a popular investment for Wall Street banks to sell to retirees and other investors, but when things changed, the bonds didn’t pay as much and many advisors allegedly failed to disclose the risks with the bonds. But Aquino continued to sell his customers heavily on Puerto Rico bonds, even while they lost money.

Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy in May of 2017 for relief of $70 billion in municipal debt. On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria swept through the island and destroyed crops, damaged aging infrastructure and flooded the cities. No clear path exists for Puerto Rico to meet its debt obligations.

Even the Rich and Famous Can be Victims of Elder Financial Fraud

June 13, 2018 | Silver Law Group

This is one accusation comic book legend Stan Lee has made against his former manager

The latest proof that elder financial fraud could affect anyone comes courtesy of 95-year-old comic book legend Stan Lee. The creator of such notable characters as Spider-Man, Thor, and the Hulk recently filed a lawsuit against Jerardo Olivarez, his former manager and a former business associate of Lee’s daughter. In addition to fraud and misappropriation of his name and likeness, Lee has accused Olivarez of elder financial abuse.

Lee’s lawsuit – which was filed in April – calls Olivarez one of several “unscrupulous businessmen, sycophants and opportunists” who tried to take advantage of Lee after his wife Joan died in 2017. The suit alleges that shortly after Joan’s death, Olivarez coerced Lee into firing his long-time banker and lawyer and signing power of attorney over to him. He also convinced Lee to hire his own son as Lee’s attorney.