Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog

Elder Financial Fraud Alert: Scrutinize Brokers Using a Senior Designation in Their Titles

April 6, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Why this may just be a marketing ploy

It is quite possible that your broker or financial advisor has an impressive-sounding title that indicates expertise managing the accounts of older investors – something like Senior Specialist. This, in fact, could be one of the reasons why you chose him or her to manage your investments. But what you may not know is that the title might not really mean anything.

When a securities professional has a special designation, he or she may have earned it through training or by passing certain tests. However, it is important to understand that there may not have been any requirement to get it. And when it comes to designations involving seniors, the SEC, FINRA, and state regulators don’t endorse them.

Silver Law Group is Investigating Gary Adkin of Stifel, Nicolaus & Company

April 6, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Gary Adkin (CRD# 3084484) is the subject of a pending customer dispute alleging $1,550,000 in damages. Adkin has been with the Palm Beach, Florida office of Stifel, Nicolaus & Company since 2015. He was previously registered with Barclays Capital, also located in Palm Beach. Silver Law Group is a South Florida-based law firm that handles securities arbitration and investment fraud cases.

In the pending dispute, Claimants allege that Adkin was negligent and failed to exercise responsibility in connection with their account. FINRA requires its members to “have a reasonable basis to believe that a recommended transaction or investment strategy” is suitable for a customer given their individual needs.

Contact Our Firm if You’ve Invested with Gary Adkin

SEC Investigation Of Morgan Stanley And Puerto Rico Bond Investments

April 6, 2018 | Silver Law Group

When Hurricane Maria landed in Puerto Rico, it caused devastation to the island’s infrastructure, crops, homes and power grid that will take many years to repair. But the damages to Puerto Rico include losses in municipal bonds and the mutual funds that hold them, which were close to default even before the storm.

While the island still struggles to recover, it wasn’t the first catastrophic event to hit the island territory. In 2014, Puerto Rico was already headed for a severe financial crisis, with bond sales from Morgan Stanley brokers as the catalysts.

Morgan Stanley and Barclay’s were responsible for underwriting the island’s $3.5 billion sale in March 2014. This sale was the last major issue by Puerto Rico before declaring bankruptcy on May 3, 2017, for a debt restructuring amounting to $3.8 trillion. The island’s debt stood at $70 million, and it needed to restructure pensions of $49 million. This municipal bankruptcy was even bigger than the city of Detroit’s 2013 restructuring of $18 billion.

Registered Individuals Suspended by FINRA in March 2018 for Failure to Comply with FINRA Rules

April 4, 2018 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for March 2018, 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
Kean Lynn Bouplon	Morgan Stanley
Kean Lynn Bouplon	Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner &Smith Inc.
Craig Charles Franzke	PNC Investments
Craig Charles Franzke	NatCity Investments, Inc.
Justin Johnston Harris	Morgan Stanley
Justin Johnston Harris	Wells Fargo Advisors
Steve Morris	Wynston Hill Capital, LLC
Steve Morris	Halcyon Cabot Partners, LTD.
Mark Allan Plummer	Chestnut Exploration Partners, Inc.

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases through FINRA arbitration or court. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide in securities arbitration to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.

In March 2018, FINRA Suspends Registered Individuals for Violations of FINRA Rules

April 4, 2018 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for March 2018, 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:

NAME	FORMER EMPLOYERS
Benjamin Glasser Aibel	Wunderlich Securities, Inc.
Benjamin Glasser Aibel	Sanders Morris Harris Inc.
Carter Page Brooks	Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
Carter Page Brooks	Edward Jones
Christopher Masharn Bruce	State Farm VP Management Corp
Abel Chaves	Farmers Financial Solutions, LLC
Christian Colon	Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc.
Christian Colon	UBS Financial Services, Inc
Randolph Lee Eddlemon III	Geneos Wealth Management, Inc
Randolph Lee Eddlemon III	Schooner Financial Associates
Carlos Nestor Evertsz-Seda	K.C. Ward Financial
Carlos Nestor Evertsz-Seda	J.P. Turner & Company, LLC
Patrick Jahmar Fearon	J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
Kenneth Taylor Foreman	Securities America, Inc.
Kenneth Taylor Foreman	Foothill Securities, Inc.
Miriam Fry	Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
Miriam Fry	First Clearing, LLC
Sherie Irene Gaunt	Gill Capital Partners
Roy Aurelio Gaytan	Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc
Roy Aurelio Gaytan	World Group Securities, Inc.
Kevin Richard Graetz	Paulson Investment Company LLC
Kevin Richard Graetz	Roth Capital Partners, LLC
Minish Joe Hede	Paulson Investment Company LLC
Minish Joe Hede	Roth Capital Partners, LLC
Shane Jason Kelly	LPL Financial LLC
Shane Jason Kelly	Suntrust Investment Services, Inc.
Atiq Urrehman Khan	Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc
Atiq Urrehman Khan	World Group Securities, Inc
Kimberly Pine Kitts	Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.
Kimberly Pine Kitts	Sound Financial, LLC
David Wayne Krumrey	Oppenheimer & Co Inc.
David Wayne Krumrey	Stanford Group Company
Gregory Alan LeVine	First Allied Securities, Inc.
Gregory Alan LeVine	Commonwealth Financial Network
Peter Jack Margaros	State Farm VP Management Corp.
Oscar Nunez	J.H. Darbie & Co. Inc
Oscar Nunez	Blackbrook Capital, LLC
Keisha Diane Pizzo
Eric P. Poague	Edward Jones
Eric P. Poague	Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation
Vanessa Beth-Anne Reeves-Farry	J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
Vanessa Beth-Anne Reeves-Farry	Chase Investment Services Corp.
Tyler V. Schultz	MML Investor Services, LLC
Tyler V. Schultz	MetLife Securities, Inc.
Luis Alberto Zuniga

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases through FINRA arbitration or court. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide in securities arbitration to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.

FINRA Bars Registered Individuals in March 2018 for Violations of FINRA Rules

April 4, 2018 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for March 2018, 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
Jesse Baker	Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner &Smith Inc.
Joseph Ryan Costa	Farmer’s Financial Solutions, Inc.
Benjamin Asa Duty	State Farm VP Management Corp
Colleen Elizabeth Flanagan	Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC
Marques Alexander Green	NY Life Securities LLC
Marques Alexander Green	MetLife Securities Inc.
R. Barry Jones	Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner &Smith Inc.
R. Barry Jones	Banc of America Investment Services, Inc.
Deanne M. Lampe	Morgan Stanley
Deanne M. Lampe	Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
Alana Marie Lewis	Edward Jones
Veronica Azucena Lopez	Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC
Veronica Azucena Lopez	Morgan Stanley
Scott Alexander Markle	HD Vest Investment Services
Scott Alexander Markle	LPL Financial LLC
Peter Andrew O’Hara	Charles Schwab & Co, Inc.
Jarrett Powell
Ciro Santoro	Allstate Financial Services, LLC
Ciro Santoro	Equity Services, Inc.
Daniel Richard Shaw	T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc.
Simon Boowon Song	AXA Advisors, LLC
Dawei Wang	Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner &Smith Inc.
Dawei Wang	Scottrade, Inc.

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases through FINRA arbitration or court. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide in securities arbitration to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful

FINRA Rule 4512 Has New Amendments

March 31, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Professionals in the securities industry are obligated to follow the rules created by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and it is important that they stay abreast of any changes or updates to them. One regulation that was recently amended is Rule 4512, which concerns customer account information.

Previously, for each account opened, a FINRA member had to get and maintain certain information, including the name and address of the customer and the names of anyone else associated with the account, plus the scope of their responsibilities. Now, members also need to make an effort to get the information of a trusted contact of the client, to assist in discovering or preventing possible financial exploitation.

What constitutes a trusted contact?

FINRA Rule 2165 Allows Members to Put Holds on Client Accounts

March 31, 2018 | Silver Law Group

In another attempt to help older investors get the protection they need, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently established Rule 2165 (Financial Exploitation of Specified Adults). This regulation allows member financial professionals to place holds on accounts in the event that exploitation is suspected.

How Rule 2165 works

Rule 2165 concerns “specified adults,” which are defined by FINRA as people 65 and older or someone 18 or older who a “member reasonably believes has a mental or physical impairment that renders the individual unable to protect his or her own interests.”

FINRA’s Recent Rules Aim to Further Protect Elderly Investors

March 31, 2018 | Silver Law Group

In February 2017, after approval by the SEC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) put into effective two initiatives: a new rule and an amendment to an old one.

Rule 2165 (Financial Exploitation of Specified Adults) allows member financial professionals or firms to place temporary holds on securities or the disbursements of funds for customers who are believed to be victims of financial exploitation.

Amendments to Rule 4512 (Customer Account Information) now require members to make efforts to get the name and contact information for a trusted contact person pertaining to a customer’s account.

Silver Law Group is Investigating Christopher Bennett of Hilliard Lyons

March 6, 2018 | Silver Law Group

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel awarded a customer of Christopher Bennett of Hillard Lyons damages of $445,000 after the claimant alleged Bennett engaged in breach of fiduciary duty, unauthorized trading, suitability, churning, misrepresentation, omission of facts, common law negligence, fraud, failure to supervise, common law negligent supervision and violation of Kentucky statutes, regulations and FINRA rules. The causes of action related to losses to the client’s qualified and non-qualified retirement accounts. The investor alleges Mr. Bennett executed transactions in her accounts without authorization, allocated her assets in an unsuitable manner for someone her age and with her investment objectives without discussing the risk associated with such re-allocation, and engaged in excessive trading in her accounts. A brokerage firm has a duty to supervise a stockbroker for compliance with the securities laws and internal firm rules and regulations.

Christopher Duke Bennett is currently registered with J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons in Louisville, Kentucky, and has been since December 1995. He has six customer disputes against him, three of which are currently pending.

Contact Our Firm if You’ve Invested with Christopher Bennett