investor protection

National Securities Corporation Censured by FINRA and Fined $125,000 for Numerous Violations

Published on: October 29, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has sanctioned National Securities Corporation for numerous violations, including failing to comply with reporting obligations and failing to enforce written supervisory procedures related to its reporting obligations between May 2015 and November 2018. National Securities Corporation was also sanctioned for failing to establish, maintain, and enforce written supervisory procedures relating to contingency offers from July 2015 through March 2017. FINRA’s most recent sanction is the third time National Securities Corporation has been censured and fined by FINRA since 2011. National Securities Corporation has also been the subject of customer complaints.

If you have lost money with National Securities Corporation, contact Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your investment or retirement accounts.

Iorio Altamirano LLP represents investors that have disputes with their financial advisors or brokerage firms, such as National Securities Corporation.

Financial Advisor Cynthia Diane Cowden (CRD# 2054676) BARRED by FINRA for Recommending High- Risk Investments to Three Senior Customers – Lake Isabella, CA

Published on: October 23, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

**Update: 3/22/2021** Ms. Cowden has been the subject of two additional customer disputes since November 2020. First, in November 2020, a customer filed a securities arbitration complaint alleging $400,000 in damages concerning a real estate security recommendation. The causes of action included breach of fiduciary duty, unauthorized trading, and elder abuse. Second, in January 2021, a customer filed a written complaint with NPB Financial Group, LLC alleging $350,000 in damages related to an unsuitable investment recommendation. The customer has not yet filed a securities arbitration complaint. If you or a loved one were a customer of Diane Cowden, contact securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential review of the investment or retirement accounts.

Original Post:

Financial Advisor Cynthia Diane Cowden (CRD# 2054676) BARRED by FINRA for Recommending High- Risk Investments to Three Senior Customers – Lake Isabella, CA

Financial Advisor Donatas B. Vildzius (CRD# 2202883) SUSPENDED for a Third Time by FINRA for Excessive Trading – Danbury, CT

Published on: October 23, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

On October 9, 2020, FINRA suspended Donatas B. Vildzius from the securities industry for six months and fined him $5,000. This sanction is the third time Mr. Vildzius has been suspended by FINRA, with previous suspensions in 2006 and 2014. Donatas Vildzius is a stockbroker and registered representative at Network 1 Financial Securities Inc. in Danbury, CT.

The latest suspension is the result of a FINRA investigation alleging that between August 2015 and April 2017, while employed by Network 1 Financial Services Inc., Vildzius excessively traded the accounts of two customers.

Excessive trading occurs when a financial advisor makes many trades in a customer’s account, not to benefit the customer but to generate commissions for the broker. Excessive trading is wrong.

INVESTIGATION: Former Morgan Stanley and Westpark Capital, Inc. Financial Advisor Stephen Sloane (CRD# 1257601) Investigated by FINRA for Unsuitable Trades in 14 Customer Accounts– New York, NY

Published on: October 22, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has filed an enforcement complaint against Stephen Sloane, alleging that from January 2014 to January 2018, he recommended an unsuitable investment strategy to at least 14 customers. The complaint alleges that Sloane did not have a reasonable basis for recommending that his customers engage in active, short-term trading of U.S. Treasuries with 10- and 30-year maturities. FINRA alleged that Sloane did not conduct reasonable diligence to understand the effect of the strategy’s costs on the customers’ potential returns. FINRA has also alleged that Sloane charged five customers excessive markups in violation of FINRA Rule 2121 and 2010.

Stephen Sloane was a financial advisor and registered representative at the following firms:

Westpark Capital, Inc., New York, NY (March 2016 – August 2020); and

Morgan Stanley Fined, Censured, And Ordered to Pay Nearly $775,000 in Restitution to Customers Over Former Broker Kevin Gunnip (CRD# 2701801)

Published on: October 21, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

On August 12, 2020, Morgan Stanley and FINRA entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”) over allegations that it failed to reasonably supervise its former broker Kevin Gunnip. As part of the AWC, Morgan Stanley agreed to pay a $175,000 fine and was censured by FINRA. It also agreed to pay eight clients $774,574 in restitution. Two other customers have already settled separately with Morgan Stanley.

The Morgan Stanley AWC allegations involve Kevin Gunnip’s and its own conduct between 2012 and 2017:

Gunnip recommended short-term trades in ten customer accounts;

UBS Profits Double as Investors in UBS’s Yield Enhancement Strategy Suffer Losses

Published on: October 20, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

Today, UBS Group AG announced that its net profit almost doubled in the third quarter to nearly $2.1 billion from $1.05 billion from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, as UBS and other large investment banking firms continue to rake in huge profits, UBS’s Yield Enhancement Strategy investors continue to suffer avoidable losses.

UBS’s Yield Enhancement Strategy, or YES, is a complex managed options strategy that UBS marketed as a safe, market-neutral overlay that would provide incremental returns to an investor’s portfolio.

Financial Advisor Frank Venturelli (CRD# 6403468) SUSPENDED by FINRA – New Jersey

Published on: October 19, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has suspended Frank Venturelli from the securities industry for 11 months. Frank Venturelli was a financial advisor and registered representative at the following firms:

Arive Capital Markets, Bay Ridge, NY (September 2019 to December 2019); and
First Standard Financial Company LLC, Red Bank, NJ (November 2014 to September 2019).

Can World Investor Week Effect Real Change for Main Street Investors?

Published on: October 6, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

The global campaign promoting investor education and protection kicked off this week. Securities regulators in the U.S. issued a joint investor bulleting highlighting key themes for investors. Among them, the benefits of holding long-term investments, the rise of COVID-19 scams, the need for investors to use resources available to confirm that they are dealing with a reputable firm, and the importance of asking questions to financial professionals.

All sensible topics, to be sure. However, given the campaign’s scope and the multitude of stakeholders involved, the campaign misses an opportunity to have a meaningful impact where it matters most: enhancing investor protections for Main Street.

FINRA’s 2019 statistics show that it imposed $39.5 million in fines to member firms and ordered $27.9 million in restitution to investors. FINRA imposes monetary fines to member firms when it identifies misconduct. These fines also have the added goal of discouraging further misconduct. Restitution is used to address the issue of an investor unjustly suffering a monetary loss. Luckily for those investors, FINRA was able to make them whole. But what about cases that did not involve action by the regulator or went unreported?

Seasoned Securities Arbitration Lawyers August M. Iorio and Jorge Altamirano Announce Their New Law Firm Iorio Altamirano LLP

Published on: September 28, 2020 | by Iorio Altamirano

We are proud to announce the launch of our securities arbitration boutique, Iorio Altamirano LLP.

We intend to build a client-focused national practice that offers a bold approach and aggressively pursues the recovery of investment losses on behalf of clients. Our new firm will represent individual investors, groups of individuals, business entities, family offices, credit unions, and institutional investors.

“We have a strong commitment to transparency. It is rooted in who we are as attorneys and as a law firm. Our core values of integrity, excellence, and grit will help us deliver results for our clients,” said partner August Iorio.