According to a recent Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), James Wright allegedly used unapproved personal emails and text messages to communicate with an unregistered administrative assistant regarding firm customers. Allegedly, from August 21st, 2015, through May 26th, 2016, Wright communicated with his unregistered administrative assistant using…
According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, between 2001 and 2016, Paul W. Smith raised $2.35 million from 30 investors by telling them he would invest their money in publicly traded securities through The Haverford Group. This was an outside partnership that Smith formed and did not disclose to…
Stoltmann Law Offices is investigating the Woodbridge Group of Companies, a southern California real estate and investment company, which has allegedly raised over $1 billion from investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating it to determine whether the company has been operating as a fraud. The company’s president, Robert Shapiro, is also being…
This week, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel comprised of three arbitrators, ordered RBC Capital Markets, and its broker, Bruce Cameron, to pay a former client $723,000 for losses sustained. The client was an elderly woman, and her portfolio suffered losses because of an overconcentration of oil and gas master limited partnerships (MLP)…
Accelerated Capital Group entered into a Disciplinary Proceeding with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). According to the Proceeding, Accelerated allegedly failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system, including written supervisory procedures (WSPs), reasonably designed to achieve compliance with federal securities laws and FINRA rules. “The firm failed to reasonably supervise trading activity to…
Stoltmann Law Offices is investigating Donald Devito, a former registered broker with Wells Fargo. Mr. Devito was terminated from the bank in December 2016, after it was revealed the firm had concerns over the level of trading in client accounts. In 2016 through 2017, Devito has had six complaints filed against him concerning the level…
Former Cuna Investment Services broker Michael Grant recently resigned from his former employer after allegations surfaced that he violated securities rules. According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Mr. Grant is not affiliated with any broker-dealer. In October 2017, he was permitted to resign from his position at Cuna following allegations he violated firm…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined New York-based Meyers Associates, now known as Windsor Street Capital, $700,000 and barred Bruce Meyers, its principal, from serving as a principal of a firm or as a supervisor. FINRA called the firm’s disciplinary history “highly troubling,” and said that the firm had been the subject of 16…
Recent records published by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) indicated that former MML Investors Services broker Clifford Marks has received numerous resolved or pending customer disputes. These allege him taking unauthorized loans against his customer’s insurance policy while he was registered with NYLife Securities, and another customer alleged that Marks “made him sign blank…
According to records with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Oppenheimer broker Leslie Flaum has allegedly violated securities laws. He was accused of making unsuitable investment recommendations, churning accounts, breaching fiduciary duty, failing in supervisory duties from December 2010 through December 2016 in connection to investments in listed equities and closed-end funds, and other violations.…