financial advisor malpractice

Former Ameriprise Broker Angel Bardeche Suspended by FINRA – Cincinnati, Ohio

Published on: January 8, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended financial advisor Angel Wynette Bardeche (CRD# 4698117) from the securities industry for nine months and fined her $10,000. Ms. Bardeche was also ordered to return $5,000 worth of commissions to customers. Angel Bardeche was registered with Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC in Cincinnati, Ohio, from August 2012 until May 2019. At that time, Ameriprise terminated her employment.

Ms. Bardeche has also received at least three customer complaints alleging that she did not disclose the surrender charges or annual fees associated with variable annuities purchases between 2013 and 2015.

If you have suffered financial losses investing with Angel Bardeche or suspect that Ms. Bardeche did not have your best interest in mind when recommending investments, mutual funds, mutual fund switches, annuities, or annuity switches, contact New York securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential review of your account or annuity contract.

New Year’s Resolutions for Investors in 2021

Published on: December 31, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

Investing your money is a great way to grow your wealth, save for retirement, and reach your financial goals. If you invest in the appropriate products, you can also receive income from investments, build on-pre-tax dollars, or reduce taxable income.

If you do not invest, you miss out on opportunities to increase your wealth. However, all investments carry risk, and when you invest, you have the potential to lose money.

There are many different types of investments. Some common types of investments include stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, mutual funds, money market funds, exchange-traded funds, and annuities. There are also more complex investment vehicles, such as real estate investment trusts (REITs), unit investment trusts (UITs), hedge funds, commodities, and private placements.

Former J.P. Morgan Securities and Edward Jones Broker, Paul Zakhary, Suspended for Unsuitable Annuity Switch Recommendations – Florida

Published on: December 28, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has suspended financial advisor Paul Zakhary (CRD No. 6399894) from the securities industry for three months and fined him $5,000.

FINRA alleged that between January and August 2018, while employed by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC in The Villages, Florida, Mr. Zakhary made unsuitable recommendations to three customers to sell variable annuities and replace them with fixed annuities, in violation of FINRA Rules 2111 and 2010.

Paul Zakhary was a financial advisor at J.P. Morgan Securities LLC from October 2017 until August 2019., working out of the firm’s branch office in Ocala, Florida. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC terminated Mr. Zakhary’s employment for violating the firm’s annuity switch policy related to annuity surrenders and managed brokerage transactions.

Jaime I. Sanchez Rivera, former First Southern, LLC Financial Advisor in Puerto Rico, Suspended by FINRA – Guaynabo, Puerto Rico

Published on: December 28, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has suspended financial advisor Jamie I. Sanchez Rivera (CRD #6013022) from the securities industry for five months and fined him $10,000. Jamie I. Sanchez Rivera was a stockbroker at First Southern, LLC in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, from April 2017 until May 2020.

First Southern, LLC fired Mr. Sanchez Rivera in May 2020, alleging the following:

Sanchez Rivera failed to immediately advise the firm of a customer’s complaint regarding an investment recommendation that he made, in violation of firm policy.

Top 15 Types of Securities Leading to Customer Disputes in 2020

Published on: December 27, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

When an investor suffers harm, including investment losses, due to misconduct by a financial advisor or broker-dealer, the investor can file a securities arbitration claim against their financial advisor and/or broker-dealer in an effort to be compensated. The case will be presented and defended in an arbitration proceeding to a panel of arbitrators instead of a court of law in front of a judge and jury.

Arbitration is the primary forum for resolving disputes between investors and brokerage firms or financial advisors because the parties have contractually agreed to use arbitration as an alternative dispute resolution process. When an investor opens an account with a broker-dealer, the investor is required to sign an array of account opening documents. These account opening documents regularly include an arbitration clause, which requires that arbitration be used as an alternative to litigation. This requirement is often a contractually binding obligation for both parties. As a result, disputes between investors and financial advisors or brokerage firms are resolved in arbitration as an alternative to court.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is authorized by Congress to regulate the financial services industry and operates the largest arbitration forum for securities disputes. Most securities arbitrations take place using FINRA’s Dispute Resolution Services’ arbitration forum because, as FINRA members, financial advisors and brokerage firms are required to arbitrate customer complaints upon the filing of a claim through FINRA.

UBS Ordered to Pay $90,000 to Yield Enhancement Strategy Customer

Published on: December 23, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

On December 22, 2020, a FINRA Dispute Resolution Services arbitration panel in Boca Raton, Florida, ordered UBS Financial Services, Inc. to pay a customer $89,675 in compensatory damages. After considering the pleadings, the testimony and evidence presented at the hearing, the arbitration panel concluded that the UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy (“YES”) was not suitable for the investor, Gerald S. Backman, a retired partner at corporate law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges.

Many UBS customers, including wealthy and sophisticated investors, who invested in UBS’s Yield Enhancement Strategy have filed lawsuits against UBS in the form of FINRA arbitrations to recover financial losses. The customers have claimed that the strategy was not suitable for them and that UBS materially misrepresented and omitted the product’s risks.

Investors who have suffered investment losses due to UBS’s Yield Enhancement Strategy should contact experienced securities arbitration attorneys at Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential case evaluation. Partner August Iorio, who has been investigating YES for nearly two years, can be reached at august@ia-law.com or toll-free at (855) 430-4010.

Former Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor, Rawad Roy Alame, Suspended by FINRA for Selling Away

Published on: December 22, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has suspended financial advisor Rawad Roy Alame (CRD #5376696) from the securities industry for six months, fined $5,000, and ordered him to pay $2,700 to a former client. Rawad Alame was a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, working out of branch offices in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Provo, Utah, from January 2016 until June 2019. Mr. Alame’s employment was terminated by Merrill Lynch, which alleged that he completed an account-related document, signed by clients, to service a client’s account that was not held at Merrill Lynch and failed to be forthcoming with Merrill Lynch’s review of the matter.

Since leaving Merrill Lynch, Mr. Alame has been affiliated with Insight Advisors, LLC in Newtown, Pennsylvania, and Gate Key Financial, L.L.C., in Raleigh, North Carolina.

If you have lost money with Rawad Alame, contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.

R.F. Lafferty & Co., Inc. and Financial Advisor Jay Clint Tomlinson Sanctioned by FINRA – New York, NY

Published on: December 15, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has suspended financial advisor Jay Clint Tomlinson from the securities industry for three months and fined him $7,500. Mr. Tomlinson’s sanctions arise from his improper use of discretion without written authorization when placing 379 trades in three customers’ accounts.

FINRA has also censured Tomlinson’s employer, New York financial services firm R.F. Lafferty & Co., Inc., and ordered the firm to pay a fine of $55,000. R.F. Lafferty & Co., Inc. (“R.F. Lafferty”) failed to maintain order memoranda that accurately reflected whether trades were solicited or unsolicited for more than 56,000 trades in customer accounts. R.F. Lafferty also failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system, and failed to enforce written supervisory procedures, reasonably designed to achieve compliance with applicable recordkeeping laws, regulations, and rules pertaining to review and retention of order memoranda.

This is not the first time Mr. Tomlinson and R.F. Lafferty have been sanctioned by FINRA. In November 2012, Mr. Tomlinson was suspended for 30 days and fined $7,500 for failing to timely provide documents and information to FINRA. At the time, Mr. Tomlinson was the Chief Compliance Officer at Brimberg & Co. Brimberg & Co. was expelled from the securities industry by FINRA for failing to pay its monetary fines.

Former Ameriprise and Edward Jones Broker Drew R. Mantel Suspended by FINRA for Exercising Discretion Without Written Authorization In Customers’ Accounts – Ohio

Published on: December 15, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has suspended financial advisor Drew R. Mantel from the securities industry for three months and fined him $5,000. Drew Mantel was registered with Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC in Miamisburg, Ohio, from March 2018 until November 2018. At that time, Ameriprise terminated his employment. Previously, he was registered with Edward Jones in Franklin, Ohio, from August 2003 until April 2018.

If you have lost money with Drew R. Mantel, contact New York securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential review of your account.

Drew R. Mantel and FINRA entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”) on December 15, 2020, over allegations related to Mr. Mantel’s conduct between June 2017 to September 2019, specifically that he:

Former Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. Financial Advisor Timothy James Pandekakes Suspended for Unsuitable Variable Annuity Recommendations – Westchester, New York

Published on: December 10, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has suspended financial advisor Timothy James Pandekakes (CRD No. 4890164) from the securities industry for three months and ordered him to pay partial restitution of $20,000.

FINRA alleged that between January 2016 and April 2018, while employed by Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. in Bronxville, New York, Mr. Pandekakes recommended four unsuitable exchanges of variable annuities, in violation of FINRA Rules 2111, 2330, and 2010.

Timothy Pandekakes was a financial advisor at Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. from December 2004 through June 2019. During the same period, he was also affiliated with MDIC Investment Company in Bronxville, New York. According to public records, Mr. Pandekakes’ employment was terminated by Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. in June 2019 for engaging in investment practices inconsistent with firm expectations.