On August 6, 2021, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Energy 11 GP, LLC, the general partner of Energy 11, L.P. (“Energy 11”), sent a letter to investors of Energy 11. Despite the upbeat and optimistic tone of the letter, as well as the representations made by David Lerner…
On August 13, 2021, a FINRA arbitration panel in New York, New York, ruled in favor of a brokerage customer that invested in GPB Automotive Portfolio LP and GPB Waste Management LP at the recommendation of his financial advisor at Hightower Securities, LLC. The arbitration panel ordered Hightower Securities, LLC…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended financial advisor Jason Seale from the securities industry for 15 business days. Mr. Seale consented to the suspension after FINRA alleged that, while associated with American Wealth Management, Inc. in Novato, CA, he engaged in discretionary trading without written authorization in four…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred financial advisor Enoch Booth from the securities industry for refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation into whether Mr. Booth engaged in unauthorized private securities transactions and outside business activities. FINRA launched the investigation after Valic Financial Advisors, Inc. terminated Mr. Booth’s…
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…
On July 19, 2021, UBS Financial Services Inc. (“UBS”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) settled charges related to UBS’s failure to adopt and implement written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent unsuitable investments in volatility-linked-exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) between January 2016 and January 2018. As a result of…
**Update: November 11, 2021** On November 8, 2021, Aegis Capital Corp agreed to pay nearly $2.7 million in sanctions for supervisory failures related to excessive and unsuitable trading by its brokers from July 2014 through December 2018. Click on the following link to read more: Aegis Capital Corp. Ordered to…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended financial advisor Gary Bowman from the securities industry for three months and fined him $10,000. FINRA alleged that between February 2013 through December 2017, Mr. Bowman engaged in an unsuitable pattern of short-term trading of Unit Investment Trusts in customer accounts. Mr.…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended financial advisor Stuart Pearl from the securities industry for three months. Mr. Pearl consented to the suspension after FINRA alleged that from March 2017 and August 2018, while associated with David A. Noyes & Company (now Sanctuary Securities, Inc.) in Indianapolis, Indiana,…
On July 1, 2021, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and broker Christopher Orlando entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2017056432603 after FINRA alleged that from October 2015 through December 2018, Mr. Orlando excessively traded 13 accounts of 12 customers in violation of Rules 2111 and…