The North American Securities Administrators Association has issued its yearly list of the top investor threats. The list is compiled through a poll of its member state securities administrators. With the enactment of Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, which takes away the advertising restrictions when it comes to soliciting securities…
FINRA is fining GlobaLink Securities Registered Principal Junhua Michael Liao $20,000. According to the SRO’s findings, through Liao, the firm executed an agreement to sell and market a Regulation D offering comprised of promissory notes for a medical receivables financing company. The financial firm then is said to have sold…
Texas Registered Rep Under Investigation for Financial Fraud Declined to Turn in Supplementary Documents Conrad Tambalo Bautista, a registered representative in Texas, is now barred from associating with any other Financial Industry Regulatory Authority member in any capacity. While not denying or admitting to the SRO’s findings, Bautista agreed to…
The New York Times is reporting that on May 24, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel of arbitrators granted Wells Fargo (WFC) broker Michele Kief ‘s request that it recommend that the securities complaint, in which the bank settled for $125,000 allegations of fraud and negligence related to her actions,…
According to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority EVP Susan Axelrod, the SRO’s examiners are reporting an increase in how many brokers appear to be taking part in questionable actions outside their firms or improperly selling securities. Speaking at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s complex products forum, she pressed brokerage…
FINRA has filed a temporary cease-and-desist order barring WR Rice Financial Services Inc. and Joel I. Wilson, its owner, from taking part in allegedly fraudulent sales activities and the conversion of assets or funds. The SRO is also filing a securities complaint accusing both the Michigan based-brokerage firm, Wilson, and…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is rejecting the appeal filed by stockbroker Kevin Wells, who was found liable for making unauthorized trades of Cyberonics Inc. (CYBX) in a customer’s account. In an initial default judgment, the customer, plaintiff William Wehrs, was awarded approximately $49,861 in damages.…
An article published this week in Slate talks about how despite what many might think, brokers in fact do not owe clients a fiduciary duty to give them the best advice possible. This could very well explain why some brokers don’t believe they are really crossing the line-or, at the…
Broker Paul Chironis has agreed to settle charges that he defrauded the Sisters of Charity. The US Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing the broker of churning of millions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities in the congregation of elderly nuns’ two accounts. One account supports the nuns’ charitable efforts. The…
Charles Winitch has pleaded guilty to involvement in a securities fraud scam that victimized disabled children. In the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the ex-financial adviser and “wealth manager” entered a guilty plea to the charge of wire fraud involving unauthorized trading for commissions. While…