Articles Tagged with best interest

Philip Connors is a stockbroker with Worden Capital Management LLC (“Worden Capital Management”) in New York, New York.  Mr. Connors has a history of customer disputes and a past association with a disreputable brokerage firm that has been expelled by FINRA.

If you have lost money with broker Philip Connors or Worden Capital Management, contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential review of your account.

Worden Capital Management

David Murray is a stockbroker with Worden Capital Management LLC (“Worden Capital Management”) in New York, New York.  Mr. Murray has a history of customer disputes and associations with disreputable brokerage firms that have been expelled by FINRA.

If you have lost money with broker David Murray or Worden Capital Management, contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential review of  your account.

Worden Capital Management

On June 8, 2021, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and Titan Securities entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”) whereby Titan Securities consented to a censure and $20,000 fine.  The sanctions are a result of Titan Securities’ failure to properly conduct an evaluation of a broker’s proposed sale of Future Income Payments to customers.

Unrelatedly, just last week, Titan Securities CEO and owner Brad Brooks was suspended for one year for failing to supervise a broker’s outside business activities between 2009 and 2012.

FINRA Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2019061705101

On June 2, 2021, FINRA’s National Adjudicatory Council modified a FINRA’s Office of Hearing Officers decision from 2019 that was filed by FINRA’s Department of Enforcement against Titan Securities, Brad Brooks, and broker Richard Demetriou.   The modified order has resulted in a one-year suspension of Titan Securities’ CEO and owner Mr. Brooks.

The enforcement action arose out of alleged misconduct of Mr. Demetriou’s involvement with a private placement of preferred units in a limited partnership, RBCP Preferred, LLC (“RBCP”).  RBCP was organized by the owner of Mr. Demetriou’s previous member firm, who employed Mr. Demetriou to solicit investments from Mr. Demetriou’s previous firm, and Mr. Demetrious represented that RBCP was offered to them as a means of recouping those losses.   Mr. Demetriou recommended RBCP, made misrepresentations concerning the supposed collateral securing the investments, and told customers that an investment of 10 percent of their previous losses would result in recovery of their lost investments, plus a profit – alleged returns of more than 1,000 percent.  The investors did not recoup their losses but instead lost an additional $337,000 when RBCP failed, and the alleged collateral was not foreclosed.

FINRA’s National Adjudicatory Council made the following findings:

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended financial advisor Ricardo Turlan from the securities industry for two months.  Mr. Turlan consented to the suspension after FINRA alleged that he engaged in discretionary trading without written authorization in two customer accounts between June 2017 and February 2019.  Mr. Turlan also allegedly mismarked approximately 72 trades as “unsolicited” when the trades should have been marked as “solicited.”  FINRA also fined Mr. Turlan $7,500.

The alleged conduct occurred while UBS Financial Services Inc. (“UBS”) employed Mr. Turlan in San Antonio, Texas.  UBS discharged Mr. Turlan in July 2019, alleging misconduct related to a non-discretionary account and trading in accounts that reached levels that could be considered unsuitable.

If you have suffered financial losses investing with Ricardo Turlan, or suspect that Mr. Turlan did not have your best interest in mind when recommending investments or making account transactions, contact New York securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential review of your brokerage account.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority “(FINRA”) has suspended Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. broker Matthew Zanowiak from the securities industry for ten business days for exercising discretion without written authorization in approximately 15 customer accounts. Mr. Zanowiak was also fined $5,000.

If you have lost money with Matthew Zanowiak or Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc., contact FINRA arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.

Iorio Altamirano LLP represents investors who have disputes with their financial advisors or brokerage firms, such as Cadaret Grant & Co., Inc.

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 cold calling people all over the country, focusing primarily on senior and elderly customers who are small business owners and retirees. Cold-calling customers is a common tactic for “boiler room” brokerage firms.

Mr. Flower was also ordered to pay restitution plus prejudgment interest to harmed customers.  However, it is unclear whether he will be able to satisfy the judgment.

Mr. Flower was associated with Spartan Capital Securities, LLC since June 2019.  Previously, he was associated with SW Financial from December 2015 to June 2019.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Department of Enforcement has filed a disciplinary proceeding complaint against brokerage firm NYPPEX, LLC (CRD No. 47654), Former Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) Laurence Allen (CRD No. 1063970), and Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) Michael Schunk (CRD No. 732595).  The complaint alleges:

  • Allen continued to serve as NYPPEX, LLC’s CEO after being statutorily disqualified in December 2018 when the Office of the New York Attorney General (“New York Attorney General”) secured an Ex Parte Order (the “Order”) from the Supreme Court of the State of New York that preliminarily enjoined and restrained Mr. Allen and NYPPEX Holdings from engaging in securities fraud, violating New York Securities law, and converting or otherwise disposing of or transferring funds from ACP X, LP, a private equity fund controlled by Mr. Allen. NYPPEX, LLC’s CCO Michael Schunk allowed Mr. Allen to continue to associate as NYPPEX, LLC’s CEO despite his statutory disqualification.
  • In March 2019, Mr. Allen devised and orchestrated an aggressive sales campaign to raise $10 million for NYPPEX Holdings through the sale of securities in NYPPEX Holdings. While soliciting these investments, NYPPEX, LLC, and Allen intentionally or recklessly made a series of material misrepresentations and omissions of material fact to prospective investors concerning, among other things, NYPPEX Holdings’ valuation, its financial condition, and its management team. NYPPEX and Allen also failed to disclose to prospective investors the New York Attorney General’s ongoing investigation into Mr. Allen’s and NYPPEX Holdings’ alleged fraudulent activity and the Order that preliminarily enjoined both of them.

Ross Barish is a stockbroker with Joseph Stone Capital L.L.C. (“Joseph Stone Capital”) in Mineola, New York. Mr. Barish is currently under investigation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for defrauding sixteen retail customers by executing a high-cost, in-and-out pattern of trading that lost his customers over $800,000 while generating commissions and fees for him of more than $400,000.  

The sixteen customers experienced total losses of $814,509.

If you have suffered financial losses investing with Ross Barish or Joseph Stone Capital L.L.C., or suspect that Mr. Barish did not have your best interest in mind when recommending investments or making account transactions, contact New York securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential review of your account or annuity contract.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred stockbroker Jeffrey Warren from the securities industry.  Mr. Warren was expelled from the brokerage industry for refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation into a gift that Mr. Warren received from a former Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. customer. Mr. Warren was associated with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida, from 2009 until 2021.

If you have suffered financial losses investing with Jeffrey Warren or Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., contact  New York securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential review of your account.

Iorio Altamirano LLP represents investors nationwide that have disputes with their financial advisors or brokerage firms, such as Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

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