Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog

Registered Individuals Barred by FINRA in January 2017 for Failing to Comply with FINRA Rules

January 23, 2017 | Silver Law Group

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for January 2017, 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
Debbie Sue Arnold	Farmers Financial Solutions LLC
Bridgett Elizabeth Beard
Anthony Joseph Calascione	Astor Wealth Management
Anthony Joseph Calascione	Legend Financial Management
Samuel David Campos	JP Morgan Securities LLC
Samuel David Campos	Chase Investment Services Corp
Ladonna Carlisle
Nichele Alexis Cavins
Shannon Kathleen Daniels	US Bancorp Investments Inc.
Shannon Kathleen Daniels	Commerce Brokerage Services Inc.
Jonathan Roth Ellis	Pruco Securities LLC
Michael Joseph Farinella	Allstate Financial Services LLC
Ricky Reid Harris Jr.	JP Morgan Securities LLC
Oded Joseph Jacobowitz	Securities America Inc.
Oded Joseph Jacobowitz	JP Morgan Securities LLC
Erik Scott Jacobsen	Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.
Erik Scott Jacobsen	Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC
Andrew Scott Jensen	Horner Townsend & Kent Inc.
Andrew Scott Jensen	AXA Advisors LLC
Tedla Ebou Khan	Goldman Sachs & Co.
Bilal Samouri McClendon	Equinox Securities Inc.
Bilal Samouri McClendon	JP Turner & Company LLC
Kevin Michael Murphy	BMO Harris Financial Advisors Inc.
Kevin Michael Murphy	LPL Financial LLC
Christopher Vincent Paul	Joseph Stone Capital LLC
Christopher Vincent Paul	Aegis Capital Corp
Jennifer Rainwater
Theodore Gerald Rothman	First Allied Securities, Inc.
Theodore Gerald Rothman	Rothman Securities, Inc.
Craig Clifford Ruschmeyer	Feltl & Company
Craig Clifford Ruschmeyer	Wells Fargo Advisors LLC
David Aaron Seigerman	Janney Montgomery Scott LLC
David Aaron Seigerman	Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
David Garrett Shaw	LPL Financial LLC
David Garrett Shaw	Private Advisor Group LLC
Ladd W. Tanner	Trustmont Financial Group Inc.
Ladd W. Tanner	Tanner Financial Services LLC
Dang Hung To	Wells Fargo Advisors LLC
William Upchurch Jr.	PFS Investments Inc.
Michael Vetere	Hornor, Townsend & Kent, Inc.
Michael Vetere	Penn Mutual Life Ins Co
Kuana Nicole Vick	First Citizens Investor Services, Inc.
Larry Phillip Vogel	IFS Securities
Larry Phillip Vogel	Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.
William Christopher Wade	Prudential Investment Management Services LLC
William Christopher Wade	USAA Financial Advisors 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.

Former Missouri LPL Financial Broker Joseph Likens Under Investigation for Pending Selling Away Complaint

January 23, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former Missouri-based LPL Financial LLC (CRD# 6413) broker Joseph A. Likens (CRD# 3084903) after a customer filed a FINRA arbitration alleging selling away, unsuitable recommendations and misrepresentation.

According to Likens’ FINRA BrokerCheck report, Likens has five (5) disclosures. Most recently, a customer filed a complaint against Likens in November 2016 alleging he sold outside investments away from his firm, unsuitable recommendations and misrepresentation. The complaint alleges $120,000 in damages and is currently pending.

Prior to the FINRA arbitration filing, FINRA permanently barred Likens from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public in October 2016 after Likens failed to respond to a FINRA inquiry for information.

Former New York Woodstock Financial Group Broker Glenn McDowell Under Investigation

January 23, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former New York, New York-based Woodstock Financial Group, Inc. (CRD# 38095) broker Glenn McDowell (CRD# 2748337) after the broker was named in a FINRA complaint alleging unauthorized activity in a customer account.

According to McDowell’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, FINRA named McDowell in a complaint in October 2016 alleging that McDowell executed unauthorized transactions in the account of a customer without first obtaining authorization. Further, the complaint alleges the customer’s individual brokerage account was not a discretionary account, the customer never executed a discretionary account agreement, and McDowell’s member firm prohibited any discretionary trading. McDowell earned approximately $5,300 in commissions for these transactions, according to the BrokerCheck report.

This complaint follows a discharge by McDowell’s former brokerage firm, National Securities Corporation (CRD# 7569) in Brooklyn, New York. According to McDowell’s BrokerCheck, McDowell was terminated upon review of allegations in a customer complaint alleging unauthorized trades and poor performance.

Did You Entrust Georgia Broker Perry De Leeuw With Your Investments or Invest in WaterBos

January 20, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Did You Entrust Georgia Broker Perry De Leeuw With Your Investments or Invest in WaterBos? on silverlaw.com

If you engaged in financial dealings with PFS Investments, Inc. broker Perry De Leeuw, you may have the right to try to recover your losses

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Duluth, Georgia-based broker Perry De Leeuw has been permanently barred from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public.

Since 2004, De Leeuw has been employed as a broker with PFS Investments, Inc. in Duluth, Georgia, and had no complaints or disputes on his record until 2016 (other than a reported misdemeanor and probation for issuing bad checks from 1984).

Former Financial Telesis Broker Christopher Ariola Under Scrutiny by FINRA

January 18, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Former Financial Telesis Broker Christopher Ariola Under Scrutiny by FINRA on silverlaw.com

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:

Broker Lance Slater Has Been Permanently Barred by FINRA

January 18, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Broker Lance Slater Has Been Permanently Barred by FINRA on silverlaw.com

The regulatory agency’s sanction is related to money allegedly borrowed from a client

In March of 2016, broker Lance Slater was barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The agency had requested that Slater get in touch to discuss allegations against him, but because he didn’t respond, he is no longer allowed to act as a broker or have any association with firms that sell securities.

The major complaint against Slater came from a former client. The client’s attorney alleged that in 2013, Slater borrowed over $200,000 from the client and was unable to pay it back. The lawyer also said that Slater traded the client’s money excessively in unsuitable investments.

Georgia Broker Clay Hoffman’s Registration Has Been Revoked – Investigation Update

January 18, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Georgia Broker Clay Hoffman’s Registration Has Been Revoked – Investigation Update on silverlaw.com

Hoffman, a former broker with SunTrust Investment Services in Waycross, Georgia had his FINRA registration revoked after being suspended

In June of 2016, Clay Hoffman was suspended by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for failing to provide information to the agency related to a number of allegations. In addition to unsuitable investment recommendations, Hoffman was accused of unauthorized trades and misrepresenting material facts.

Hoffman began work as a broker in 2001 with Edward Jones in St. Louis, and it didn’t take long before he ran into client issues. The first customer dispute came in 2006, and over the next nine years there were 13 more.

UDF IV Delisted from NASDAQ; Issues Distribution Despite Delisting

January 17, 2017 | Silver Law Group

United Development Funding IV (“UDF IV”) announced a distribution amidst a continuing SEC investigation and delisting from NASDAQ exchange.

On November 8, 2016, United Development Funding (“UDF”) announced that its public real estate investment trust United Development Funding IV’s board of trustees has authorized a cash distribution of $0.08 per share payable on November 28, 2016 to its shareholders.

Though UDF shareholders do not have much to celebrate, this distribution presents some good news given the storm the company has been through. For example, most recently, in October 2016, UDF IV was delisted from the NASDAQ Stock Market and is now listed on the OTC Markets under the symbol UDFI. It’s currently trading at $2.76 per share.

Cetera Investment Services, LLC Sanctioned by FINRA for Failure to Notify of Material Changes to Accounts

January 17, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Cetera Investment Services, LLC (CRD# 15340) entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”) with FINRA after the regulatory body alleged it failed to notify account owners regarding changes to their account records.

According to the AWC, from October 1, 2008 through November 15, 2013, Cetera failed to mail or otherwise furnish 57,881 notifications to account owners of record regarding changes to their accounts, including, changes in the name of the account holder, address changes and more importantly, investment objective changes in the account. The significance of this that any change in the investment objectives in the account would affect what would be considered a suitable investment.

As part of the AWC, Cetera agreed to a censure and a fine in the amount of $75,000. Since Cetera’s formation in November 2012, it has been subject to nine (9) disclosures on its FINRA BrokerCheck report.

Cetera Subsidiary VSR Financial Services Closing; Transferring Brokers to Other Firms in Cetera Network

January 17, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Cetera Financial Group subsidiary VSR Financial Services, Inc. (CRD# 14503) is winding down and transferring some of its brokers to other Cetera Financial Group broker-dealers.

VSR is one of Cetera Financial Group’s (“Cetera”) many independent brokerage firms. Cetera was acquired by Nicholas “Nick” Schorsch’s RCS Capital in 2014 in an acquisition spree used to create a selling network for RCS Capital’s products, including numerous business development companies (“BDCs”) and non-traded REITs. Many of Cetera’s brokerage firms operate under Cetera Advisor Networks, LLC (CRD# 13572), a list of which can be found here.

According to some sources, the move is part of an ongoing plan to evade RCS Capital’s poor reputation. VSR will be the second firm under the Cetera umbrella to be shut down if it can beat Investors Capital Corp. (CRD# 30613), which is also part of Cetera’s Financial Group and expected to also be closed or consolidated in the coming months. J.P. Turner & Company, L.L.C. (CRD# 43177), shuttered in 2015, was the first Cetera subsidiary broker-dealer to close.