$70 MILLION Recovery for Investment Fraud

$44 MILLION Recovery for Ponzi Scheme Victims

$25 MILLION Recovery Against National Brokerage Firm

$9.1 MILLION FINRA Arbitration Award Against Brokerage Firm

$7.9 MILLION Securities Arbitration Award Against Stockbroker

$1 MILLION Securities Arbitration Award for Elder Financial Fraud

Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog

Merrill Lynch Broker Permanently Barred After Years of Allegations and Refusal to Respond to FINRA Requests for Information

January 10, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Merrill Lynch Broker Permanently Barred After Years of Allegations and Refusal to Respond to FINRA Requests for Information on silverlaw.com

Michael Highfill has been permanently barred from the securities industry

A former Merrill Lynch broker, Michael Highfill was permanently barred from the securities industry in July of 2015 after 16 years in the industry. His most recent position was with Merrill Lynch in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Before Merrill Lynch, he was a registered broker with Morgan Stanley in Ridgeland, Trustmark Financial Services in Jackson, Mississippi and with J.C. Bradford & Company in New York, New York.

His BrokerCheck report shows that Highfill is the subject of one regulatory sanction and one civil judgment. He was also terminated from Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch.

Hugh M. Dyson, Jr. Suspended and Ordered To Pay $740,000 In Restitution

January 10, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Hugh M. Dyson, Jr. Suspended and Ordered To Pay $740,000 In Restitution ON SILVERLAW.COM

Long-time investment broker permanently suspended from any FINRA activity and ordered to pay restitution.

Hugh Monroe Dyson, Jr. was issued a final suspension in August, 2015 and ordered to pay $740,000 (plus interest) in restitution to clients that he solicited to invest in his business, Keypoint Oil, and misrepresented how he used their investments.

FINRA found that over a period of nearly 20 years between 1992-2011, Mr. Dyson solicited more than $740,000 in funds from clients of Ameriprise Financial Services in Raleigh, NC and other former securities customers. He claimed that these investments would be used for oil and gas extraction.

Matthew DiGregorio Suspended After Multiple Client Complaints

January 10, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Matthew DiGregorio Suspended After Multiple Client Complaints on silverlaw.com

Investment broker recently barred by FINRA after multiple complaints from clients

Investment broker Matthew DiGregorio was suspended by the Federal Industry Regulatory Authority in August of 2015. Mr. DiGregorio has had multiple complaints filed against him by prior clients for the following breaches of conduct:

Taking excessive risk with client investments that was not in line with their goals and objectives

Have You Lost Money Investing With Bennett Broad?

January 10, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Have You Lost Money Investing With Bennett Broad? on silverlaw.com

As of August 2015, Broad is permanently barred from the securities industry by FINRA

According to his FINRA BrokerCheck report, Bennett Broad, who worked in the financial industry for more than 30 years, has amassed a 15-year history of allegations against him from clients. The complaints, which total 28, compelled the FINRA to sanction Bennett and permanently bar him from the industry in August of 2015.

While he spent much of his career working as a broker for Oppenheimer and Company in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, Broad also spent several years working for other firms including UBS Financial Services based in Weehawken, New Jersey and Dean Witter Reynolds based in Purchase, New York.

Marat Zeltser Has Been Barred By FINRA After Numerous Allegations of Misconduct

January 10, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Marat Zeltser Has Been Barred By FINRA After Numerous Allegations of Misconduct on silverlaw.com

Allegations include willful violation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, among others

Marat Zeltser has a long history in the financial services industry, including working as a broker for various firms in New York, New York since 2003.

While employed by Caldwell International Securities Corporation, allegations against Zeltser included mishandling accounts, losing a client’s money and failing to follow client’s requests to sell a security. He also allegedly invested monies in an unsuitable triple leverage EFT’s over long periods of time.

FINRA Permanently Bars Honetta C. Kao After Allegations of Unauthorized Trading and Mishandled Accounts

January 10, 2016 | Silver Law Group

FINRA Permanently Bars Honetta C. Kao After Allegations of Unauthorized Trading and Mishandled Accounts on silverlaw.com

Numerous customer complaints surface over the course of his work history with various firms

On August 4, 2015, Honetta C. Kao was suspended by the FINRA for failure to respond to their request for information. And in November, he was permanently barred from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public.

Kao’s industry experience incudes ten different firms and on record, dates back to 2005 when he worked for Custom Capital Corporation in Brooklyn, New York. Accused of mishandling accounts, giving bad investment advice, making unsuitable recommendations and unauthorized trades, Kao racked up numerous customer complaints and damages while working at Meyers Associates, L.P. and Caldwell International Securities, both in New York.

FINRA Permanently Bars NY Broker Rasheed Adams After Allegations of Churning

January 10, 2016 | Silver Law Group

FINRA Permanently Bars NY Broker Rasheed Adams After Allegations of Churning on silverlaw.com

Excessive trading leads to $57K in commissions and $37K in losses for investors, among other allegations

In August of 2015, FINRA permanently banned New York financial advisor Rasheed “Richard” Adams from associating or engaging with any firm associated with FINRA after allegations of excessive trading were filed. Adams also failed to provide required FINRA information and paperwork related to these allegations and his investment activity. Adams allegedly gained a commission of approximately $57,000, while his customers lost approximately $37,000.

According to the FINRA complaint, Mr. Adams worked with Caldwell International Securities between 2011 and 2015, which is when these churning activities were alleged to have occurred. Previously, he was registered with PHD Capital (2010-2011) and E1 Asset Management Inc. (2002-2010). He is not currently registered with any FINRA member firm.

Jose Irizarry Permanently Barred by FINRA After Involvement in UBS Puerto Rico Fiasco

January 9, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Jose Irizarry Permanently Barred by FINRA After Involvement in UBS Puerto Rico Fiasco on silverlaw.com

After 17 years in the securities industry, Irizarry has been permanently barred

Jose Irizarry began working in the financial services industry in the early 1990’s. During his long career, he worked for various firms, including Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith in New York, PaineWebber in New Jersey and most recently for UBS Financial Services in San Juan Puerto Rico.

As of August, 2015, Irizarry has been permanently barred by the FINRA following a 3-month suspension in which he failed to request termination of his suspension in the specified time-frame.

Wells Fargo Advisor Robert M. Giusti Under Investigation for Unsuitable Recommendations and Other Alleged Misconduct

January 6, 2016 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating customer complaints against Wells Fargo advisor Robert M. Giusti (“Giusti”) located in New York, NY. There are four customer complaints against Giusti and one civil action alleging a number of securities law violations, including unsuitable investments, misrepresentations, negligence, unauthorized use of margin funds, and excessive trading.

The most recent FINRA arbitration was filed in April 2015 and alleged unsuitable investment recommendations, excessive trading, and misrepresentation and omission of material facts for exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) purchased between December 2010 and June 2015 totaling $1,326,374.00 in losses. Another securities arbitration filed in January 2012 similarly alleged unsuitable investment recommendations and settled for $45,000.00. A civil judgment was filed against Giusti in April 2015 for $1,100,000.00 by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, which was awarded this amount in a FINRA arbitration claim brought against Giusti.

Giusti entered the securities industry in 1995. He has been registered with 11 firms over the course of his career. From November 2006 through June 2009, Giusti was employed by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Giusti had a brief stint with Morgan Stanley June 2009 through September 2009. From August 2009 until December 2013, Giusti was associated with Merill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated in New York City. Most recently, Giusti has been employed by Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC since December 2013.

Wells Fargo Financial Advisor Donald Toomer, Jr. of Las Vegas, Nevada Accused of Penny Stock Fraud

January 6, 2016 | Silver Law Group

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Samuel DelPresto and his company with illicitly pocketing $13 million from an elaborate pump-and-dump scheme with the assistance of Donald Toomer, Jr.

The SEC alleges that DelPresto and others teamed up to secretly obtain control of substantially all available stock in four microcap companies and to facilitate coordinated trading that created the appearance of liquidity and market demand for the stocks. After unwitting investors were enticed through promotional campaigns to buy the stock at inflated prices, DelPresto dumped his shares on the market.

“The series of fraudulent schemes alleged in our complaint enticed unwitting investors to pay inflated prices for four companies secretly controlled by DelPresto and others and then left the investors holding the bag when the manipulative activity ceased and the stock price dropped,” said Andrew M. Calamari, Regional Director of the SEC’s New York office regarding the SEC action.