The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred stockbroker Matthew Siliato from the securities industry. Mr. Siliato was expelled from the brokerage industry for refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation. FINRA’s investigation originated from an investigation into Mr. Siliato’s potentially excessive and unauthorized trading in a customer’s account while…
Iorio Altamirano LLP is investigating claims on behalf of customers of Calton & Associates, Inc. after the firm was censured, fined $250,000, and ordered to pay $472,007 in restitution to harmed investors by FINRA. The sanctions involve supervisory failures between February 2014 and February 2020 related to suitability obligations connected…
Martin Lerner is a stockbroker with David Lerner Associates, Inc. (“David Lerner Associates”) in Boca Raton, Florida, with a history of customer complaints. Martin Lerner has been the subject of six customer complaints, which include one pending dispute and five resolved disputes that ended with monetary compensation being paid to…
On May 17, 2021, a FINRA arbitration panel issued an award in favor of customer Donna Wagner in a securities arbitration against Brokers International Financial Services, LLC and former broker Mark Christopher Perry. Brokers International Financial Services and Mr. Perry (the “Respondents”) were held jointly and severally liable for $795,929…
On Friday, May 14, 2021, GPB Capital Holdings LLC (“GPB Capital”), a private equity firm based in New York, registered some units in its GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP (“GPB Automotive”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As part of its filing, GPB Automotive disclosed that it had substantial doubt of…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Department of Enforcement has filed a disciplinary proceeding complaint against former broker Adam Belardino. The complaint alleges that Mr. Belardino failed to cooperate with a FINRA investigation, which was initiated in Aril 2019 after Mr. Belardino’ s employment was terminated by MML Investors Services, LLC…
This post is part of a series of investigative blog posts that spotlight modern-day boiler rooms that operate under the guise of a reputable brokerage firm. Many of the broker-dealers featured in this series still use boiler room tactics such as cold-calling customers and high-pressure or aggressive sales tactics. Other…
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,…
On Thursday, January 28, 2021, Robinhood designated specific stocks “position closing only,” meaning that customers could not purchase additional shares in those stocks. The targeted stocks included GameStop (NYSE: GME), AMC (NYSE: AMC), Blackberry (NYSE: BB), Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Koss Corporation (NYSE: KOSS), and Express, Inc. (NYSE: EXPR). Robinhood was…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred stockbroker Michael Dellaporta, Jr. from the securities industry. Mr. Dellaporta was expelled from the brokerage industry for refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation into an outside business activity. Mr. Dellaporta, who was a broker for over forty years, most recently worked…