A National Securities Arbitration & Investment Fraud Law Firm
David Schmerber (CRD #2093918) is a currently registered broker and investment advisor with Cetera Advisors of Centerville, OH. He has been in the industry since 1990. His previous employers include:
FINRA suspended Christopher Robert Hickman in June of 2017 for six months. This suspension is a result of Hickman’s violations of NASD Rule 2310, and FINRA Rules 2111 and 2010, regarding the unsuitable trading of Unit Investment Trusts, or “UITs.” Hickman neither denied nor confirmed the findings, and consented to the sanctions, which included a five-month suspension and a fine of $5,000, and included customer restitution of $115,989.75 (with interest.) Hickman was in the Delray Beach, Florida office of Cetera.
Hickman recommended these UITs to his customers and sell them within a year of purchase. The UITs in question had a 24-month maturity, and come with significant up-front charges, up to 3.95%. The average holding period for his customers was 136 days. After their sale, Hickman again recommended his customers purchase the same types of UITs with the proceeds and sell them after less than a year, repeating the process. Six of his customers suffered losses of approximately $115,989.75.
During his tenure at Cetera Advisors, LLC., Hickman was also the subject of several customer disputes, most of which were settled, and one denied. The last customer dispute, in April of 2017, involved “breach of fiduciary duty, violation of FINRA rules, negligence, breach of contract, and elder abuse,” and was settled for $15,000.
Our firm has filed a complaint against Irvine, California-based Cetera Advisors (CRD# 10299) relating to broker Daniel B. Vazquez Sr. (CRD# 3141463) after FINRA permanently barred Vazquez.
According to Vazquez’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, FINRA permanently barred him from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public in June 2016 for failing to respond to a FINRA request for information.
The permanent bar comes just two months after a FINRA arbitration was filed alleging unsuitable recommendations and unauthorized trades which led to portfolio losses.
Investment broker Bruce Michael Sabourin (CRD #2556826), most recently with Cetera Advisors, once again has a FINRA reported disclosure. Sabourin is now permanently barred from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public. According to the April 2015 FINRA Disciplinary and Other FINRA Actions Report, Sabourin was suspended as of February 23, 2015 for allegedly failing to provide information or keep information current according to FINRA rules.
What exactly is FINRA, you ask? Good question. It is the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. All brokers and investment firms must agree to abide by FINRA rules. It’s the watchdog you want keeping an eye on investment players to make sure everyone is playing by the same rules. When someone isn’t, FINRA steps in.
Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog