Articles Tagged with investor advocates

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended stockbroker Joseph Lianzo from the securities industry for eight months.  Mr. Lianzo consented to the suspension after FINRA alleged that from March 2016 through November 2019, while associated with Laidlaw & Company (UK) LTD. and SW Financial, Mr. Lianzo excessively traded four customers’ accounts and placed 13 unauthorized transactions in violation of FINRA Rules 2111 and 2010.  As a result of churning and excessive trading, the customers incurred high commissions and fees, and significant realized investment losses.

Customers of Mr. Lianzo, Laidlaw & Company (UK) LTD, or SW Financial should consult with a securities arbitration law firm.  If you or a loved one were a customer of Joseph Lianzo, Laidlaw & Company (UK) LTD, or SW Financial LLC, contact  New York securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential consultation and review of your legal rights.

Iorio Altamirano LLP represents investors nationwide that have disputes with their financial advisors or brokerage firms, such as Laidlaw & Company (UK) Ltd or SW Financial.

On September 1, 2021, Robinhood ($Hood) filed its first amendment to its Form S-1 Registration Statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

The public filing, which amends the registration statement that Robinhood filed in connection with its July 2021 initial public offering (IPO), discloses that the SEC’s Division of Examinations and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) have submitted inquires to Robinhood related to whether any employee executed trades in certain securities, including GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., before the public announcement that Robinhood would restrict trading in those securities on January 28, 2021.

On Thursday, January 28, 2021, Robinhood designated specific stocks “position closing only,” restricting its customers from purchasing 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).

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred stockbroker Donald Fowler from the securities industry.  Mr. Fowler consented to the suspension after FINRA alleged that from December 2014 through December 2018, while associated with Worden Capital Management LLC, Mr. Fowler churned and excessively traded four customers’ accounts in violation of FINRA Rules 2111 and 2010.  As a result of churning and excessive trading, the customers incurred high commissions and fees, and significant realized investment losses.

Customers of Mr. Fowler or Worden Capital Management LLC should consult with a securities arbitration law firm.  If you or a loved one were a customer of Donald Fowler or Worden Capital Management LLC, contact  New York securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential consultation and review of your legal rights.

Iorio Altamirano LLP represents investors nationwide that have disputes with their financial advisors or brokerage firms, such as Worden Capital Management LLC.

**Update: September 9, 2022**  On September 6, 2022, a group of Oppenheimer customers were awarded over $36 million by a FINRA arbitration panel as compensation for their investment losses in Horizon Private Equity, III, LLC.  (“Horizon”).  Horizon is an alleged Ponzi scheme operated by John Woods, a broker who was registered with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.   Iorio Altamirano LLP encourages all retail investors to contact our law firm for a free and confidential consultation and to review their legal rights.

Original Post:

SEC Charges John Woods of Southport Capital With Operating $110 Million Ponzi Scheme By Selling Units of Horizon Private Equity, III, LLC

On August 23, 2021, a FINRA Dispute Resolution Services arbitration panel in Baltimore, Maryland, ordered UBS Financial Services, Inc. (“UBS”) to pay $405,000 to customers who invested in UBS’s Yield Enhancement Strategy (“YES”).  The award included $300,000 in compensatory damages, $30,000 in costs, and $75,000 in attorneys’ fees.  The customers alleged that UBS and broker Adam Rogers misrepresented UBS’s Yield Enhancement Strategy, a complex and highly risky options strategy, as a way to obtain marginally higher yield on a portfolio while taking limited risks.  In actuality, the complexity and nature of YES exposed the Claimants to a significant risk of loss.  The Claimants also alleged that UBS and its team of options traders conducted the YES program with virtually no supervision or compliance oversight and with inadequate risk controls.

This order is the third arbitration award against UBS in 2021 concerning YES and the fourth since December 2020.   On March 31, 2021, a FINRA arbitration panel in Columbus, Ohio, ordered UBS to pay customers over $372,000 in compensatory damages and fees.  Earlier in the month, on March 5, 2021, another FINRA arbitration panel in Denver, Colorado, ordered UBS to pay customers over $1 million in compensatory damages.  In December 2020, a FINRA arbitration panel in Boca Raton, Florida, awarded a customer nearly $90,000.

UBS has faced numerous lawsuits from customers in the form of FINRA securities arbitrations related to YES, a complex managed options strategy that UBS marketed as safe and market-neutral. The customers have claimed that the strategy was not suitable for them and that UBS materially misrepresented and omitted the risks of the strategy.

August 24, 2021 – This morning, investors of GPB Automotive Portfolio LP woke up to more worrisome news, as the Wall Street Journal reported that the GPB Capital Holdings LLC, is looking to sell its largest dealership group, Prime Automotive, raising speculation that the GPB Automotive is running out of cash.

The latest news follows GPB Automotive’s regulatory filings in May 2021 that disclosed that there was substantial doubt that the business would survive, and July 2021 that disclosed that the Partnership was able to obtain a financing agreement with M&T Bank, but that the Partnership only had sufficient liquidity to meet its financial obligations through July 21, 2022.

In its latest regulatory filing, on August 16, 2021, GPB Automotive disclosed that it might sell dealerships to provide operational liquidity.  According to the Wall Street Journal, such sales may be priced below fair value and go on the book as losses.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended stockbrokers Alfonse Stazzone and Maxim Beliakov from the securities industry for four months.  The financial advisors consented to the suspension after FINRA alleged that, while associated with Woodstock Financial Group, Inc., they excessively and unsuitably traded a customer’s account between September 2017 and August 2018. FINRA also fined both brokers $5,000 each.

Customers of Messrs. Stazzone and Beliakov or Woodstock Financial Group, Inc. who have suffered financial losses, or suspect that the brokers did not have their best interest in mind when recommending investments or making account transactions, can contact New York securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential consultation and review of their legal rights.

Iorio Altamirano LLP represents investors that have disputes with their financial advisors or brokerage firms, such as Woodstock Financial Group, Inc.

On August 6, 2021, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Energy 11 GP, LLC, the general partner of Energy 11, L.P. (“Energy 11”), sent a letter to investors of Energy 11.  Despite the upbeat and optimistic tone of the letter, as well as the representations made by David Lerner Associates, Inc.’s financial advisors to customers, investors have the right to feel concerned about their investments based on Energy 11’s public filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  Most notably for investors:

  • Energy 11 has not made distributions to its limited partners since March 2020.
  • Energy 11 owes its limited partners 18 months of unpaid distributions, totaling more than $36 million.

On August 13, 2021, a FINRA arbitration panel in New York, New York, ruled in favor of a brokerage customer that invested in GPB Automotive Portfolio LP and GPB Waste Management LP at the recommendation of his financial advisor at Hightower Securities, LLC.

The arbitration panel ordered Hightower Securities, LLC to refund $163,201 to the customer in exchange for a return of the limited partnership interests, essentially making the customer whole. The customer had purchased the limited partnership interests for $170,000 and had previously received $6,799 from the investments as a return of capital.

Iorio Altamirano LLP is investigating claims on behalf of defrauded investors who were victims in the GPB funds scheme. The GPB funds were marketed to independent broker-dealers and investment advisers who would, in turn, sell the GPB funds to their retail investors.

Contact Information