**Update: 4/19/21** In March 2021 another customer filed a securities arbitration complaint against Daniel Todd Lerner and David Lerner Associates, Inc. The customer has alleged over $515,000 in damages as a result of unsuitable investment recommendations related to Energy 11 and an unspecific mutual fund (possibly, SOAEX). The complaint alleged unsuitability, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, and unauthorized trading.
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On behalf of a client, securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP has filed an arbitration claim through FINRA Dispute Resolution Services against David Lerner Associates Inc. (“David Lerner”). The claim alleges that President and CEO Martin Walcoe and David Lerner unsuitably recommended that the customer purchase and hold Puerto Rico municipal bonds and misrepresented and omitted material facts concerning the risk and safety of the bonds. The recommendations and misrepresentations occurred at a time when credit rating agencies were downgrading Puerto Rico municipal bonds and indicated that further credit downgrades were imminent. At the time of the recommendations, Mr. Walcoe was an investment counselor and branch manager.
The claim also alleged that David Lerner also failed to suitably and properly allocate the customer’s brokerage account. Instead, David Lerner concentrated the customer’s account in risky, speculative, and uninsured Puerto Rico municipal bonds.
David Lerner’s recommendations to purchase and hold speculative Puerto Rico municipal bonds and its repeated recommendations to concentrate the customer’s investment accounts into speculative junk bonds were unsuitable and not in the customer’s best interest in light of the customer’s investment objectives and “middle ground” risk tolerance.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
FINRA has barred financial advisor Michael Edward Magill (CRD #2024663) from the securities industry. Michael Magill was a stockbroker at Foreside Fund Services, LLC, in Portland, Maine, from August 2017 until January 2019.
If you have lost money with Michael Magill, contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.
Mr. Magill has been a financial advisor and registered representative at the following firms:
| Registration Dates | Firm Name | Branch Location |
| August 2017 – January 2019 | Foreside Fund Services, LLC | Portland, Maine |
| August 2016 – July 2017 | Crossroads Capital Distributors, LLC | Newport Beach, California |
| December 2004 – December 2015 | Janus Distributors LLC | Denver, Colorado |
| January 2000 – January 2005 | Davis Distributors, LLC | Tucson, Arizona |
| January 1996 – January 1997 | TCC Securities Corporation | San Francisco, California |
| July 1995 – January 1996 | Phoenix Securities, Inc. | San Rafael, California |
| June 1994 – November 1994 | Continental Capital Group, Inc. | |
| May 1991 – November 1992 | John Hancock Distributors, Inc. | Boston, Massachusetts |
| May 1991 – November 1992 | John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company | Boston, Massachusetts |
| January 1990 – July 1990 | *Hibbard Brown & Co., Inc. | New York, New York |
*FINRA expelled Hibbard Brown & Co., Inc. on February 22, 1996
Michael Magill and FINRA entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”) on December 7, 2020, over allegations related to Magill recommending private securities transactions to three investors. The securities sold to the investors were not legitimate investments and the three investors, who were not customers of Foreside Fund Services, LLC, lost their entire investment, totaling $700,000. Specifically, FINRA alleged:
When a financial advisor solicits a customer to participate in a securities transaction that is not offered or approved by the advisor’s employing brokerage firm, it is often referred to as selling away.
This blog has previously written about other recent selling away allegations: Future Income Payments, LLC.
Brokerage firms like Foreside Fund Services, LLC must properly supervise financial advisors and customer accounts. Brokerage firms must also establish and maintain a reasonably designed system to oversee account activity, such as private securities transactions, to ensure compliance with securities laws and industry regulations. When a brokerage firm fails to sufficiently supervise its financial advisors or the investment account activity, it may be liable for investment losses sustained by customers.
If you have lost money with Michael Edward Magill or Foreside Fund Services, LLC, contact New York securities arbitration lawyer August Iorio of Iorio Altamirano LLP. August Iorio can be reached at august@ia-law.com or toll-free at (855) 430-4010 for a free and confidential review of your account.
Iorio Altamirano LLP is a boutique law firm located in the heart of New York City. Iorio Altamirano LLP represents investors nationwide who have suffered investment losses due to securities fraud.
Iorio Altamirano LLP is investigating whether registered stockbrokers and financial advisors inappropriately recommended that customers purchase common stock of Eastman Kodak Company (KODK).
Iorio Altamirano LLP is an investor advocate law firm based in New York, NY. We help investors recover financial losses due to wrongful conduct by financial advisors and brokerage firms.
If you suffered financial losses from an investment in Kodak stock recommended to you or purchased on your behalf by a stockbroker or financial advisor, contact New York investor protection attorney August Iorio of Iorio Altamirano LLP. August Iorio, a native of Rochester, New York, can be reached at august@ia-law.com or toll-free at (855) 430-4010 for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.
Securities Arbitration Lawyer Blog