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$1 MILLION Securities Arbitration Award for Elder Financial Fraud
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According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for April 2021, 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. However, these individuals remain bound by the securities arbitration agreement to arbitrate any disputes between themselves and their former customers:

NAME FORMER EMPLOYERS
  Adam Belardino   MML Investors Services, LLC
  MSI Financial Services, Inc.
  Trent Drake   Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.
  Pacer Financial, Inc.
  Nathaniel Eklund   J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
  Geneos Wealth Management, Inc.
  Idean Esfahani   Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  Adam Feierstein   Proequities, Inc.
  Woodbury Financial Services, Inc.
  Ngonidzashe Parirenyatwa   Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  Planco Financial Services, LLC
  Laquita Pettis   Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  George Stills Jr.   Securian Financial Services, Inc.
  AXA Advisors, LLC
  Tim Viohl   U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc.
  LPL Financial LLC

Continue reading ›

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According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for March 2021, 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
  Christian Evans   Morgan Stanley
  Highland Capital Funds Distributor, Inc.
  Mark Grenier   David Lerner Associates, Inc.
  Maxim Group LLC
  Harry Lum Jr.   Horace Mann Investors, Inc.
  Allstate Financial Services, LLC
  Dorinda Lumpkin   BBVA Securities Inc.
  Timothy Melvin   Horace Mann Investors, Inc.

Continue reading ›

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According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for March 2021, 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
  Jason Allen   Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  Morgan Stanley
  Carl Birkelbach   Birkelbach Investment Securities, Inc.

Continue reading ›

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According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for March 2021, 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. However, these individuals remain bound by the securities arbitration agreement to arbitrate any disputes between themselves and their former customers:

NAME FORMER EMPLOYERS
  Ryan Callahan   State Farm VP Management Corp
  James Carpenter II   LPL Financial LLC
  Edward Jones
  James Childress   LPL Financial LLC
  Householder Group Financial Advisors, LLC
  Justyn Euan   Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  Nayely Gamez   Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  Igor Kislitsa   PFS Investments Inc.
  Hector Mejia   ADP Broker-Dealer, Inc.
  Yonay Perez   Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
  Jorge Pica   Suntrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc.
  Stephens Inc.
  Rodney Repko   Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation
  Valic Financial Advisors, Inc.
  Michael Swenson   Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
  Piper Jaffray & Co.

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Mark Hopkins (Mark Lewton Hopkins CRD#: 2653473) is a former registered broker who was registered with American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (CRD# 18487) of Grand Blanc, Michigan from 2009 until he was permitted to resign in 2018.  Hopkins worked in the industry since the 1990s. Hopkins also did business under the name Worklife Wealth Management. Hopkins’ BrokerCheck Report, published by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) contains several recent disclosures, including two customer disputes, a regulatory action initiated by FINRA, as well as a Complaint filed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Hopkins Was Permitted To Resign From His Position At American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. Hopkins’ FINRA BrokerCheck Report reveals that in December 2018, Hopkins was permitted to resign amid allegations that he “accepted customers funds for an investment not on the books of the [broker-dealer] without obtaining pre-approval.”Mark Hopkins (Mark Lewton Hopkins CRD#: 2653473) is a former registered broker who was registered with American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (CRD# 18487) of Grand Blanc, Michigan from 2009 until he was permitted to resign in 2018.  Hopkins worked in the industry since the 1990s. Hopkins also did business under the name Worklife Wealth Management. Continue reading ›

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Scott Silver, Silver Law Group’s managing partner, was recently interviewed for an article on Investmentnews.com that details the alleged “hot air” spewed by brokers to sell $1.8 billion of GPB Capital Holdings to investors. Silver Law Group represents investors in claims to recover GPB investment losses. If you have losses from investing in GPB, contact Silver Law Group for a no-cost consultation at (800) 975-4345 or at ssilver@silverlaw.com. Founded in 2013 by Scientologist David Gentile, GPB calls itself an alternative asset manager that invested in income-producing companies, including auto dealerships and a waste management company. To raise capital, GPB used dozens of regional broker dealers and advisory firms across the country to sell private placements  in its various funds to investors. Investors in GPB were told by their brokers and financial advisers that they were buying into a company that would pay 8% distributions and may one day go public to give them additional return. GPB Goes Downhill GPB private placements have not performed the way investors believed they would. In 2018, GPB stopped paying distributions to customers. In 2019, the FBI raided the company’s offices, class action lawsuits were filed, and the company reported that the value of its funds was down significantly.Scott Silver, Silver Law Group’s managing partner, was recently interviewed for an article on Investmentnews.com that details the alleged “hot air” spewed by brokers to sell $1.8 billion of GPB Capital Holdings to investors.

Silver Law Group represents investors in claims to recover GPB investment losses. If you have losses from investing in GPB, contact Silver Law Group for a no-cost consultation at (800) 975-4345 or at ssilver@silverlaw.com. Continue reading ›

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In our Silver Law securities arbitration and investment arbitration blogs, we highlight individuals who were caught taking financial advantage of their investment clients. In many cases, the investors are elderly, and sometimes, inexperienced at investing. And in some cases, the brokers and advisors are elderly themselves, caught committing fraud after a successful decades-long career. These individuals should understand what constitutes fraud, particularly against elderly clients. Still, they do it anyway. Many times, these elderly clients do not completely understand the complex investment information they are presented with. Some may be too polite to ask questions or challenge the representative. In other cases, they may be experiencing the beginnings of cognitive decline that isn’t  obvious and hasn’t yet been detected by family or their physician. This lapse in mental acuity can allow a fast-talking broker to convince them of something to which they would otherwise say “no.” The Increasing Elderly Demographic Although California has the largest number of elderly citizens, Florida has the highest percentage of elderly residents in the US. A full 19% of Florida’s population is over 65, and the numbers are increasing. It’s estimated that by 2050, elderly people in the US will top 80 million. Many of these elderly are financially well-off, and some are millionaires. A number of them will pass along their wealth to their children and grandchildren. These sums may be transferred more than once through parentage. So it’s highly likely that these elders can and will be targeted for fraud by any number of people. From distant family members who are suddenly friendly to caretakers, neighbors, brokers and financial advisors, and “new friends,” they all see an elderly person with money as an easy target.  In our Silver Law securities arbitration and investment arbitration blogs, we highlight individuals who were caught taking financial advantage of their investment clients. In many cases, the investors are elderly, and sometimes, inexperienced at investing. And in some cases, the brokers and advisors are elderly themselves, caught committing fraud after a successful decades-long career. These individuals should understand what constitutes fraud, particularly against elderly clients. Still, they do it anyway. Continue reading ›

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It’s a story we’ve heard repeatedly: an elderly individual has been fleeced out of a large sum of money. In many cases, it was all the money they had, and don’t have a clue on how to get it back. Americans over the age of 65 are 15% of the general population and hold a considerable amount of wealth. Many elders are particularly trusting of people when they shouldn’t be. Because they mistakenly trust someone that took advantage of them, they may be too embarrassed to speak up or press charges. In many cases, the victim is dependent on the abuser for their everyday needs, such as a relative or hired caretaker. Some elders have pensions and investments to pay their expenses, whereas others have on Social Security as their only source of their income. Fraudsters pay no attention to income source or level. In short, the answer is: yes. But that doesn’t mean elder financial fraud is being ignored.It’s a story we’ve heard repeatedly: an elderly individual has been fleeced out of a large sum of money. In many cases, it was all the money they had, and don’t have a clue on how to get it back.

Americans over the age of 65 are 15% of the general population and hold a considerable amount of wealth. Many elders are particularly trusting of people when they shouldn’t be. Continue reading ›

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