Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Galvin has filed charges against LPL Financial (LPLA) for its alleged failure to supervise one of its brokers. Roger Zullo is accused of bilking clients for years by selling variable annuities to retirees even though the investments were not suitable for them. In…
Minnesota-Based Investment Adviser Gets Six-Year Jail Term According to the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Levi David Lindemann was ordered to serve a 74-month prison sentence—that’s six years—for bilking clients in a Ponzi scam. Lindemann owned Gershwin Financial, which did business using the name Alternative Wealth Solutions. He pleaded guilty to…
Secretary of State William Galvin is accusing Texas-based brokerage firm Investment Professionals of selling investment products to elderly customers even though the investments were not suitable for them. The San Antonio broker-dealer allegedly ran high-pressure sales contests at several partner community banks in the New England state between 2013 and 2016.…
Once again, financial adviser Dawn Bennett is in the news. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has reportedly filed a securities case against Bennett, who is the owner of Bennett Group Financial Services, for not appearing four times to testify in the regulator’s probe into her retail clothing business, DJBennett.com. FiNRA…
FINRA has issued a complaint against Stanley Clayton Niekras accusing the broker of elder financial abuse. According to the regulator, Niekras allegedly cheated a couple, who are in their nineties and in failing mental and physical health, out of over $70K in financial panning services fees. Even though Niekras didn’t…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging ex-Samoyedic’s Inc. and Fun Cool Free Inc. founder Craig V. Sizer and boiler room operator Miguel Mesa with involvement in a $20M penny stock scam to bilk senior investors and others. At least 600 investors were allegedly victimized in the fraud. The…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred ex-broker Douglas Wayne Studer after it was discovered that he was named to inherit a 91-year-old customer’s Florida waterfront condominium. FINRA’s investigation, which began last year, sought to determine whether he violated his ex-employer’s policy by being named in the estate documents belonging…
NASAA Puts Out Practices and Procedures Guide to Protect Vulnerable Adults The North American Securities Administrators Association has issued a guide to help investment advisory firms and broker-dealers create procedures and practices to help them identify and tackle suspected incidents of financial exploitation involving vulnerable adult clients, including senior investors…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has filed a securities case against Christopher Ariola, a former broker. According to the regulator, while he was at Bay Mutual Financial, Ariola recommended that three retirees invest a chunk of their retirement funds in energy and gold stocks. He is accused of helping a…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has filed a securities fraud case against Hank Mark Werner. The self-regulatory organization is accusing the New York broker of churning the account of a 77-year old widow who is blind, and engaging in unsuitable and excessive trading involving her account. FINRA claims that Werner…