failure to supervise

Financial Advisor Anthony Tricarico Suspended by FINRA for Excessive Trading While Employed at Aegis Capital Corp. – New York, NY

Published on: January 26, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

**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 Pay Nearly $2.7 Million for Supervisory Failures Related to Rampant Excessive and Unsuitable Trading

Customers of Aegis Capital, including customers that have been notified that they may be receiving restitution, should consult with a securities arbitration law firm. If you or a loved one were a customer of Aegis Capital, contact New York securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential consultation and review of your legal rights.

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After Merrill Lynch Has Paid Over $66 Million to Settle Churning Allegations Against Former Broker Charles Kenahan, FINRA Has Barred Kenahan From the Industry.

Published on: January 25, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

Summary:

FINRA has barred financial advisor Charles Kenahan from the securities industry after he refused to cooperate with FINRA’s investigation.
In 2019, Bank of America Merrill Lynch agreed to pay $40 million to settle with Robert Levine, co-founder of Cabletron Systems, over churning allegations.

Fort Lauderdale Financial Advisor Bryan Mazliach BARRED by FINRA For Excessive Trading and Unauthorized Trades

Published on: January 25, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

On January 20, 2021, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Hearing Officer barred Bryan G. Mazliach from the securities industry for:

Recommending and effecting an unsuitable investment strategy to five customers involving in-and-out, short-term, and excessive trading.
Executing unauthorized trades in the accounts of eight customers.

Financial Advisor Christian Lucchetto Suspended by FINRA for Excessive Trading

Published on: January 20, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has suspended financial advisor Christian Frank Lucchetto (CRD No. 4648994) from the securities industry for three months and fined him $5,000.

FINRA alleged that between January 2018 through May 2019, while employed by First Standard Financial Company in Red Bank, NJ, Frank Lucchetto excessively and unsuitably traded a customer’s account, in violation of FINRA Rules 2111 and 2010.

Mr. Lucchetto, who has ten years of experience in the securities industry, has been employed as a financial advisor at the following brokerage firms since 2011:

Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. Customer in Layton, Utah Filed FINRA Arbitration Complaint About REITs and BDCs

Published on: January 14, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

A Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. customer has recently filed a complaint with FINRA Dispute Resolution Services alleging that former broker Robyn D. Simons recommended unsuitable investments in real estate investment trusts (REITs) and business development companies (BDCs). The investments were reportedly purchased between 2014 and 2016. The complaint also alleges that Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. failed to supervise Robyn Simons’ actions. The customer has alleged $200,000 in damages.

This complaint is not the first securities arbitration claim filed against Robyn Simons and Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. arising out of Robyn Simons’ investment recommendations. In 2015, a customer filed a FINRA arbitration complaint alleging that investments made in her accounts between 2013 and 2015 were unsuitable. The customer also alleged that Robyn Simons misrepresented the securities to her at the time of purchase. Reportedly, the investments included a REIT, BDC, Unit Investment Trust (UIT), and equities. According to Robyn Simons’ BrokerCheck Report, Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. settled the matter with the aggrieved customer for $21,500.

Robyn Simons was registered with Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. in Layton, Utah, from February 2008 until September 2017.

Former Merrill Lynch Broker in Beverly Hills, Ryan Raskin, Barred by FINRA

Published on: January 14, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred financial advisor Ryan Ashley Raskin from the securities industry. Ryan Raskin was registered with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“Merrill Lynch”) in Beverly Hills, California, from May 2016 until May 2020. Merrill Lynch terminated Mr. Raskin’s employment on March 4, 2020, alleging that his business practices were inconsistent with Merrill Lynch’s standards. The business practices purportedly included inappropriate investment recommendations involving mutual funds.

According to public records, shortly after Mr. Raskin’s termination, a customer complained that Mr. Raskin engaged in unauthorized trading and churning of mutual funds and money funds from January 2018 until January 2020. Peculiarly, Merrill Lynch denied this customer’s complaint.

Investors should be aware that filing a complaint directly with a financial institution, like Merrill Lynch, is not the same as filing a securities arbitration complaint. If an investor is seeking monetary compensation, the investor must initiate a securities arbitration through FINRA Dispute Resolution Services.

Boulder, Colorado Financial Advisor, Formerly of LPL Financial LLC, Suspended by FINRA

Published on: January 13, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended financial advisor Arthur Obermeier from the securities industry for 60 days and fined him $5,000. Mr. Obermeier’s sanctions arise from his execution of trades without his customers’ authorization or consent.

Arthur Obermeier was registered with LPL Financial LLC in Boulder, Colorado, from June 2002 until his employment was terminated in May 2019. LPL Financial LLC fired Mr. Obermeier, alleging that he exercised discretion in clients’ accounts without authorization.

If you have suffered financial losses investing with Arthur Obermeier or suspect that Mr. Obermeier executed trades in your account without authorization, contact New York securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential consultation.

Statesboro, Georgia Financial Advisor Christopher B. Black BARRED by FINRA

Published on: January 13, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has barred stockbroker Christopher B. Black from the securities industry. FINRA handed down the expulsion because Mr. Black refused to provide information and documents connected with FINRA’s investigation into whether Mr. Black entered into undisclosed loan arrangements with a customer. Mr. Black was a financial advisor at LPL Financial LLC in Statesboro, Georgia, from October 2017 until his employment was terminated in April 2020 for violating firm policy for not disclosing the loan arrangements. Mr. Black has also been affiliated with the following business entities: Renasant Financial Services and LPL Business.

Mr. Black has also been the subject of three customer complaints while employed by LPL Financial LLC. First, in April 2020, a customer alleged that Mr. Black recommended the purchase of bonds that were not suitable for the investor. A second customer filed a complaint in July 2020, also alleging misrepresentation and unsuitable recommendations regarding the purchase of bond investments. Third, a customer filed a complaint in October 2020, which alleged that Mr. Black misappropriated funds between August 2019 and April 2020. No further details are publicly available regarding this pending complaint.

Before his employment with LPL Financial LLC, Mr. Black was a financial advisor at Wells Fargo in St. Simons Island, Georgia, from November 2013 until September 2017.

VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc. Fined $350,000 by FINRA Over Variable Annuity Supervisory Violations

Published on: January 13, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc. (“VFA”) and FINRA entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”) on January 8, 2021, over supervisory and reporting violations. Specifically, FINRA found that:

Between January 1, 2017, and October 31, 2018, VFA failed to establish a supervisory system and written procedures for the surveillance variable annuity rates exchanges and for corrective action in case of inappropriate exchanges.
During this period, VFA also failed to establish a supervisory system and procedures for the review of transactions where a registered representative recommended that a customer invest additional funds into existing variable annuities.

Investor Alert: Iorio Altamirano LLP Investigates Morgan Stanley Over 529 Savings Plans

Published on: January 12, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

Iorio Altamirano LLP is investigating claims on behalf of Morgan Stanley customers after the firm agreed to pay restitution of more than $1.7 million over supervisory failures related to its 529 plan share-class recommendations. If you have lost money with Morgan Stanley or were advised by a Morgan Stanley representative to purchase particular share classes of 529 savings plans, contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.

Morgan Stanley and FINRA entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”) on December 30, 2020, over findings that between January 1, 2013, and June 30, 2018, the firm failed to establish and maintain a system reasonably designed to supervise representatives’ recommendations to customers to purchase certain share classes of 529 savings plans, in violation of MSRB Rule G-27. Specifically, the FINRA AWC stated that Morgan Stanley’s supervisory system was not reasonably designed to supervise 529 share-class recommendations executed 1) in certain legacy Smith Barney accounts or 2) through transactions made directly with plans.

Morgan Stanley is headquartered in Purchase, New York, and has been a FINRA member firm since May 2009. As of December 2020, Morgan Stanley had approximately 720 branches and over 23,500 registered persons.