Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog

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Georgia Broker Clay Hoffman’s Registration Has Been Revoked – Investigation Update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Georgia Broker Clay Hoffman’s Registration Has Been Revoked – Investigation Update on silverlaw.com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

Cetera Subsidiaries Ordered to Pay More Than $6 Million for Variable Annuities Violations

January 17, 2017 | Silver Law Group

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) fined eight firms, including VOYA Financial Advisors (CRD# 2882) (“VOYA”) and five broker-dealer subsidiaries of Cetera Financial Group (Cetera Advisor Networks LLC (CRD# 13572)), for failing to supervise sales of variable annuities (VAs). The eight firms are required to pay a fine of $6.2 million in total.

The eight firms and the respective fines are as follow: VOYA, fined $2.75 million; Cetera Advisor Networks, fined $750,000; Cetera Financial Specialists LLC (CRD# 10358), fined $350,000; First Allied Securities, Inc. (CRD# 32444), fined $950,000; Summit Brokerage Services, Inc. (CRD# 34643), fined $500,000; VSR Financial Services, Inc. (CRD# 14503), fined $400,000; Kestra Investment Services, LLC (CRD# 42046), fined $475,000; and FTB Advisors, Inc. (CRD# 17117), fined $250,000.

Cetera Financial Group owns Cetera Financial Specialists, Cetera Advisor Networks, First Allied, Summit, and VSR. For more information on Cetera, visit our firm’s background page on the broker-dealer and its subsidiaries.

Former VSR Financial Broker John H. Towers Under Investigation for 46 BrokerCheck Disclosures

January 17, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating former Plano, Texas-based VSR Financial Services, Inc. (CRD# 14503) broker John H. Towers (CRD# 700221) due to an extraordinarily high amount of FINRA BrokerCheck disclosures alleging unsuitable recommendations and negligence.

According to John H. Towers FINRA BrokerCheck report, Towers has 46 misconduct disclosures, most of which are FINRA arbitrations. All the FINRA arbitrations allege that Towers recommended unsuitable investments and many allege overconcentration, and all but five of the disclosures have come in the last five years.

This is an extraordinary amount of FINRA BrokerCheck disclosures. While one or two complaints over a long period of time in the industry is not unheard of, the complaints Towers has amassed over a short period of time is concerning. Out of the 46, 42 are FINRA arbitrations and 35 of those have settled.

Summit Brokerage Services Broker Keith A. Bradley Under Investigation for Unsuitable Recommendations and Negligence Allegations

January 17, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating Houston, Texas-based Summit Brokerage Services, Inc. (CRD# 34643) broker Keith A. Bradley (CRD# 868141) after a customer filed a FINRA arbitration alleging unsuitable recommendations and negligence.

According to Bradley’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, a customer filed a FINRA arbitration against Bradley in July 2016 alleging unsuitable investments, negligence, and $100,000 in damages.

In addition to the FINRA arbitration filing, Bradley has four other disclosures on his FINRA BrokerCheck report. The other four are all tax liens accrued in separate cases. His first came in 1989 and is for an unspecified amount. His second tax lien was in 1999 in the amount of $109,000. His third came three years later in 2002 in an amount of $108,000. His most recent tax lien was in 2011 in the amount of $400,000.

L-Share Violations has 5 Cetera Financial Group Firms Paying Almost $3 Million in Fines

January 14, 2017 | Silver Law Group

On November, 2016, FINRA announced fines against five (5) Cetera Financial Group brokerage firm subsidiaries in an amount of $2.95 million for supervisory failures related to variable annuity L-shares.

FINRA fined the following Cetera Financial Group-related firms:

Cetera Advisor Networks LLC (CRD# 13572) of El Segundo, CA, was fined $750,000.