Richard Wood, an Ohio broker, has agreed to be barred from the securities industry for allegedly committing broker misconduct. According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the broker, working for American General Securities Inc., allegedly stole the $90,000 that a client had left to two of her nieces. FINRA says…
UBS Financial Services Inc. has agreed to be fined $100,000 and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. has consented to a $150,000 fine, says the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, for alleged supervisory failures that resulted in the inappropriate short-term sales of closed-end funds that were bought at initial public…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing broker-dealer Prime Capital Services Inc., income tax preparation business Gilman Ciocia Inc., and seven individuals of defrauding senior investors in Florida. The agency claims that the two companies, as well as the individuals named, allegedly used “free” lunch seminars that resulted in…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has permanently barred a former Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. Inc. and AXA Advisors broker from operating. Kenneth George Neely has admitted to running a ponzi scheme involving clients of both broker-dealers, as well as friends, family members, and fellow church members. According to federal regulators,…
Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. has consented to pay half a million dollars to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it recommended unapproved money managers to clients. The SEC claims the broker-dealer breached its fiduciary duty to Nashville advisory clients when it made material misstatements about a program designed…
Our securities fraud lawyers are investigating claims for clients of Richard Buswell and Brookstone Securities over private placement units sales in Advanced Blast Protection, as well as charges that clients received unsuitable recommendations. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has made public records noting that Brookstone Securities terminated Buswell’s employment this…
Last week, the Staff of the Atlanta Regional Office of the US Securities and Exchange Commission sent Morgan Keegan & Co, Inc., Morgan Asset Management, Inc., and three employees a “Wells” notice. The notice stated the Staff’s intention to recommend that the Commission bring enforcement actions over possible federal securities…
According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the amount of investor fraud claims alleging securities fraud and other violations has grown. From January to May 2009, investors filed 3,163 stockbroker fraud claims-an 85% increase from the 1,711 stockbroker fraud arbitration claims that were filed for the same period in 2008.…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission says Ameriprise Financial Services has consented to pay $17.3 million to settle allegations that it received millions of dollars in undisclosed compensation in exchange for selling certain REITs (real estate investment trusts) to its brokerage customers. The SEC says Ameriprise demanded and got “revenue…
A former stockbroker that used to work for A.G. Edwards and Stifel Nicolaus has pleaded guilty to mail fraud. Neil R. Harrison, could spend up to 27 months behind bars-although his agreement to repay $85,739, cooperate with police, and lack of a criminal record could help him receive less than…