On August 3, 2021, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and former Joseph Stone Capital L.L.C. stockbroker Eugene McAdams entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2020066887801 whereby Mr. McAdams consented to a bar from the securities industry. Mr. McAdams consented to the expulsion after refusing to…
In an arbitration award published by FINRA on July 30, 2021, Boca Raton, Florida financial advisor William Friedman was ordered to pay $250,000 in damages to a Claimant. Notably, Mr. Friedman was suspended by FINRA on July 2, 2021, over his failure to respond to a FINRA request for information.…
StockCross Financial Services, Inc. (“StockCross Financial”), which was acquired by Muriel Siebert & Co., Inc. (“Muriel Siebert”), consented to a censure and $250,000 fine in connection with FINRA’s findings that between July 2009 and December 2019, StockCross Financial had no reasonable surveillance system to review solicited transactions for excessive trading…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred financial advisor Ronald Giovino from the securities industry for refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation into whether Mr. Giovino converted customer funds. FINRA launched the investigation after it received information through the FINRA Securities Helpline for Seniors. Mr. Giovino has been…
**Update: April 30, 2022** On November 19, 2021, the FINRA Office of Hearing Officers entered a default decision barring Mr. Giovannelli from associating with any FINRA member firm in any capacity for providing falsified documents and false testimony to FINRA staff and engaging in unauthorized trading in a customer account. …
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred stockbroker Marc Lippman from the securities industry. Mr. Lippman consented to the bar after FINRA alleged that he provided false information to FINRA during on-the-record testimony regarding whether he was aware that his customer was deceased at the time of entering a…
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) Office of Hearing Officers has barred stockbroker James W. Flower from the securities industry for excessively trading in five customers’ accounts, executing 17 unauthorized trades, and mismarking 58 transactions. According to the findings, although he is based in New York, Mr. Flower generated business by…
A FINRA Dispute Resolution Services arbitration panel in Richmond, Virginia, found Westpark Capital, Inc. to be liable for actions of its disgraced former broker, Lawrence Fawcett, and ordered the firm to pay nearly $800,000 to customers Charles and Karen Hailey. The award included over $545,000 in compensatory damages, $33,500 in…
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) Office of Hearing Officers has barred stockbroker Mercer (“Toby”) Hicks III from the securities industry for making unsuitable investment recommendations to five elderly customers ranging in age from 73 to 88 years old. The recommendations involved non-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITS”) and a Business…
You worked hard, opened a brokerage or retirement account, and invested your savings with a financial advisor or stockbroker, only to suffer financial losses due to bad investment advice, misleading sales pitches, or brokers that were driven by commissions. Now what? Can I Sue My Financial Advisor Over Losses? Yes,…