The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred J. Gordon Cloutier, Jr. (Cloutier), a former Wells-Fargo (WFC) broker based in the Dallas area of Frisco, Texas, after he allegedly tried to make an unauthorized trade and requested a loan from a client. Cloutier, who had worked at the firm for…
Four Transamerica entities have settled US Securities and Exchange Charges accusing them of misconduct involving investment models that were faulty. Collectively, the entities, AEGON USA Investment Management LLC (AUIM), its affiliated brokerage firm Transamerica Capital Inc., as well as its affiliated investment advisers Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. and Transamerica Asset…
Five unregistered brokers and their companies are now facing US Securities and Exchange Commission charges accusing them of selling Woodbridge securities to investors even though they were not registered as broker-dealers and therefore were not allowed to sell these securities. The defendants allegedly made millions of dollars from the Woodbridge…
Lawyers representing a retired couple in a claim against Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. recently obtained an award from a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) arbitration panel awarding them $800,000 in damages. The claim was based upon an investment of the couple’s money, including retirement assets, into various energy stocks, including…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing a rule that would keep registered representatives and brokers from also referring to themselves as investment advisors. In almost 1,000 pages of new proposals, the regulator articulated that it wants brokerage firms to make sure that the investing public knows that while…
According to the New York Times, even though Morgan Stanley (MS) executives have known for years about the domestic violence allegations against Douglas E. Greenberg, who was one of their leading brokers, the firm continued to allow him to stay employed in its wealth management division. However, after the NY Times tried to contact the…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred three brokers in separate, unrelated cases for alleged misconduct. They are ex-Morgan Stanley (MS) representative Thomas Alain Meier, ex-Fortune Financial broker Michael Giokas, and ex-Northwestern Mutual broker Michael Cochran. Former Morgan Stanley broker Thomas Alan Meier is accused of making unauthorized trades in…
FINRA Arbitration Panel Awards Allegis Investment Advisors Client $404,482 A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel has awarded Mark Watson $404,482 in his unauthorized trading case against Allegis Investment Services, Allegis Investment Advisors, and ex-broker Brandon Curt Stimpson. Watson is accusing Stimpson of placing his life savings in investments…
FINRA Panel Orders Hilliard Lyons to Pay Damages to Elderly Client In a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration case, Hilliard Lyons is ordered to pay 84-year-old Elizabeth Nickens $445K in damages for losses she sustained from alleged churning and unauthorized trading. Nickens claims that advisor Christopher Bennett made transactions…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred Jeffrey Palish, an ex-Wells Fargo (WFC) broker in the wake of allegations of senior investor fraud. The regulator is accusing him of stealing over $180K from an elderly client with no plans or means of paying her back. Palish was let go by…