Two Merrill Lynch Brokers Stole More Than $6M from 13 Clients In December 2021, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined Merrill Lynch in two separate matters. One fine, of $950K, is because the firm allegedly failed to detect that two of its financial advisors had stolen more than $6M from 13 customers in schemes […]
COVID Relief Loans Involved Undisclosed Business Outside Their Brokerage Firms According to InvestmentNews, ex-J.P. Morgan Securities broker Gloria Willis, former Merrill Lynch stockbroker Evelyn Batista, and ex-Wells Fargo financial advisor Kenric Sexton have either been barred or suspended from the securities industry. These Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sanctions were imposed after the self-regulatory organization […]
Over 3,000 Customers May Have Been Charged More Than $8.4M in Excessive Sales Fees The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith will pay approximately $8.4M in restitution and an over $3.2M fine to settle charges alleging supervisory failures involving unit investment trust (UIT) rollovers. The self-regulatory organization (SRO) […]
Former Chicago Stockbroker Defrauded Customers To Fund Luxury Lifestyle Marcus E. Boggs, an ex-Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith registered representative, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the federal criminal case accusing him of defrauding former customers of $3M. The ex-Chicago financial advisor admitted to using the money to fund his lavish lifestyle. He […]
Former Kentucky-Based Merrill Lynch Broker Gets Eight Years in Prison Christopher Lee Hibbard, a former stockbroker for Merrill Lynch and Pierce, Fenner & Smith is sentenced to eight years in prison. The ex-Kentucky stockbroker pleaded guilty to investment fraud and multiple counts of wire fraud earlier this year. Hibbard, who worked 18 years in the […]
Ex-New Hampshire Governor is Suing For Damages The New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation is looking into allegations brought by the state’s former governor, Craig Benson, who is accusing ex-Merrill Lynch brokers Dermod Cavanaugh and Charles Kenahan of churning his account and causing over $50M in damages that with market adjustments, he claims, is now […]
Broker-Dealers Accused of Not Properly Supervising Custodial Accounts The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that it has fined five major firms $1.4M in total for not reasonably supervising custodial accounts. The broker-dealers are: Citigroup (C), which will pay $300K. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (MS), which will pay $300K. JP Morgan Securities (JPM), which will […]
Fired Merrill Lynch Broker Barred By FINRA Indefinitely If you were an investor who sustained losses while working with Ma Rosa Linan Abrego, contact Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LLP (SSEK Law Firm) today. Our brokerage firm misconduct lawyers work with clients who have suffered financial losses due to the negligent, fraudulent or other wrongful […]
Merrill Lynch Fined For Involvement In Puerto Rico Bond Fraud Case In a recent award, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has decided that Merrill Lynch must pay a former professional baseball player and his wife $1.7 million in compensatory damages, plus $88,758 in costs, for losses they sustained from investing in Puerto […]
Collateral Yield Enhancement Strategy (CYES) Damages: SSEK Investigating Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas (SSEK), a law firm specializing in representing wronged investors is looking into allegations against Gordon Harper, a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch out of Upper Montclair, New Jersey. Prior to that, he worked at Banc of America and […]
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