Two North Carolina investors have filed an arbitration claim with FINRA against Morgan Stanley (MS) over unsuitable investments involving the financial firm’s Cushing MLP High Income Exchange Traded Note. The married couple, who are retirees in their sixties, are accusing the brokerage firm of: · Common law fraud · Negligence…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is barring Nicholas Rowe, the former owner of registered investment advisor Focus Capital Wealth Management, from the industry. The charges come in the wake of parallel proceedings in New Hampshire where state regulators barred him from being licensed as an investment adviser. The New…
Former Broker Is Subject of Numerous Securities Claims If you are an investor who sustained losses after purchased real estate investments trusts with the help of former broker Jerry McCutchen, you may have grounds for a securities claim. According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s BrokerCheck Report, McCutchen is accused…
William Galvin, the securities regulator of the state of Massachusetts, has filed charges against Citizens Securities for purportedly selling an older investor funds that were too high risk for her investment tolerance level. He wants restitution for the investor, who lost approximately $7,000. Citizens Securities operates out of Citizen Bank…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has imposed an over $1 million penalty on Fidelity Investment’s Fidelity Brokerage Services (Fidelity) for failing to protect clients from a financial fraud committed by a woman pretending to be a broker for the firm. Lisa A. Lewis (Lewis) stole over $1 million from…
New Hampshire’s Bureau of Securities Regulation says that LPL Financial has consented to pay $750,000 to resolve charges involving the sale of nontraded real estate investment trusts to an elderly investor. The state says that transactions were not only unlawful but also they were suitable for the 81-year-old customer. The…
United Development Funding IV Shares Fall After Allegations of Texas Ponzi Scheme United Development Funding IV (“UDF IV”), a Texas-based real estate investment trust (“REIT”), saw its share price drop after Harvest Exchange published a post that said the REIT had been run like a Ponzi scheme for years. United…
Ex- Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. President Michael Donnelly and the firm’s affiliated broker-dealer will settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges accusing him of bilking brokerage customers and advisory clients of close to $2M. According to the SEC complaint, Donnelly’s 13 victims included unsophisticated investors and older investors belonging to the…
Jason Wade Cox, a former advisor for Edward Jones, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering involving the account of a 56-year-old disabled woman. Cox had been managing the account of Jodene Beaver ever since the death…
The North American Securities Administrators Association announced that its Board of Director has approved to release for comment a proposed model act to tackle the problems faced by brokerage firms, investment adviser firms, and their representatives when dealing with signs that older senior investors, or other vulnerable adults, may be…