FINRA Suspends Cincinnati, Ohio Financial Advisor The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has suspended former Ameriprise (AMP) stockbroker, Angel W. Bardeche, for nine months over allegations that she engaged in unsuitable mutual fund switches over a two-year period that earned her $450K in commissions. The self-regulatory organization (SRO) also contends…
California Stockbroker Accused Of Unsuitability & Misrepresentations David Omori Bibo, a Western International Securities, Inc. registered representative is named in two pending customer disputes collectively seeking $1.8M in damages. The San Jose broker has been part of the industry for 25 years. He has seven disclosures on his BrokerCheck record.…
Customers Claim That Northstar Financial Services Products Were Touted As Low Risk & Safe If you are an investor who suffered losses while investing in Northstar Financial Services products that were recommended to you by a SunTrust Investment Services stockbroker, please contact Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm…
Lax Oversight Purportedly Allowed An LPL Broker to Continue Defrauding Customers in Ponzi Scam The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined LPL Financial Holdings (LPLA) $6.5M due to purported supervisory inadequacies related to recordkeeping, fingerprinting employees that were non-registered representatives, and its financial advisers’ consolidated reports. The self-regulatory organization…
FINRA Settlement Includes Restitution to More than 2,400 Customers In an agreement reached with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Transamerica Financial Advisors consented to pay $8.8M over the unsuitable sales of mutual funds, variable annuities (VAs) and 529 savings plans to customers. $4.4M of this is a fine and…
Broker-Dealer’s RIA Accused of Violating Fiduciary Duty The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Voya Financial Advisors have arrived at a $22.9M settlement, including $13.9M in restitution and interest to customers that were harmed. Voya Financial Advisors is an independent brokerage firm that is run as both a broker-dealer…
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…
Coastal Equities Has Been The Subject of $3M in Investor Arbitration Claims Coastal Equities, a mid-sized broker-dealer, recently arrived at a settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in which it agreed to give $280K in restitution to several customers. The firm is accused of failing to reasonably supervise…
New York Stockbroker is Named in Multiple Customer Disputes If you suffered substantial losses from investments recommended to you by Spartan Capital Securities broker Joseph Kelly, you may have grounds for filing a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claim to recover your losses. Kelly, who is based in New…
Risky, Illiquid Business Development Company Was Not Suitable for Many Investors If you are someone who invested in the Sierra Income Corporation, you may have lost money. This business development company (BDC) is a non-traded investment. Earlier this year, Sierra Income suffered losses after its announced merger with Medley Capital…