Investor Lawyers Blog

Securities Regulator News: NASAA Offers Guide to Protecting Senior Investors and other Vulnerable Adults, States Disclose 2015 Enforcement Statistics, and SEC to Scrutinize Firms With Rogue Brokers

Published on: September 12, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

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 and adults with diminished capacity. […]

LPL Financial Fined $250K by Massachusetts Over Misrepresentations Made to Senior Investors

Published on: July 14, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin has fined LPL Financial (LPLA) $250K to resolve charges that its representatives misrepresented their qualifications when working with older investors. The state’s regulator claims that the brokerage firm approved having brokers use senior-specific titles on their business cards. The titles were not in compliance with the state’s regulations […]

Massachusetts Regulator Charges Securities America Over Bait and Switch Ads By Broker Accused of Targeting Senior Investors

Published on: July 11, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin is charging Securities America with inadequate supervision of a broker who is accused of using a “grossly deceptive” radio ad campaign to target older investors. The state regulator said that the financial firm shouldn’t have approved the spots that Barry Armstrong ran on his AM radio show. His […]

FINRA and SEC Unveil Report on Senior Investors, Cite Concerns About Unsuitable Recommendations

Published on: April 27, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Securities and Exchange Commission have put out a report, the Senior Investment Initiative, to help brokerage firms come up with better procedures and policies for older investors. With the current low yields on traditional savings accounts and investments that are more low risk, FINRA and the SEC’s Office […]

LPL Financial Fires Texas Branch Manager Over Selling Away Claims, Settles with Senior Investors in Massachusetts for $541,000 Over Faulty Variable Annuity Switches

Published on: October 15, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to his report on the central registration depository, LPL Financial (LPLA) branch manager James Bashaw was fired last month for allegedly engaging in selling away, which involves taking part in private securities transactions without written disclosure or approval from a brokerage firm, as well as borrowing from a client and taking part in a […]

Securities Fraud: Ex-Ameriprise Adviser to Pay $3M for Ponzi Scam, Four Insurance Agents Allegedly Defrauded Senior Investors, and Trading in Nine Penny Stocks is Suspended

Published on: October 8, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Former Ameriprise Adviser Ordered to Jail, Must Pay $3M Restitution Oscar Donald Overbey Jr., an ex-Ameriprise Financial Services (AMP) financial adviser, must pay back the $3 million he allegedly stole from investors while operating a Ponzi scam. The 47-year-old has been sentenced to three and a half years behind bars. Court documents say that from […]

Boston Investment Firm Accused of $5 Million Real Estate Investment Fraud Targeting Senior Investors

Published on: June 19, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The state of Massachusetts has filed a complaint against Cabot Investment Properties and its principals Timothy J. Kroll and Carlton P. Cabot. Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is charging the firm with defrauding mostly elderly investors through fraudulent real estate investment sales. The administrative complaints contends that Massachusetts residents wanting retirement income invested […]

Combatting Elder Financial Fraud: SEC, NASAA, & FINRA Update Their Best Practices to Protect Senior Investors

Published on: August 29, 2010 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the North American Securities Administrators Association have updated their 2008 report regarding financial firms’ best practices when serving elderly investors. The security regulators remain committed to making sure that seniors are given a “fair market” with responsible sales practices and suitable products. The 2008 […]

VSR Financial Services Settles FINRA Claim Over Improper Securities Sales Made to Senior Investors

Published on: May 25, 2009 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

VSR Financial Services, an investment firm, has agreed to pay $10.3 million to settle a FINRA claim that it failed to properly supervise two ex-brokers accused of improperly selling risky investments to 249 customers. The agreement ends the litigation brought by the investors, many of them retirees, against VSR and its two ex-brokers, Rebecca Engle […]

Ex-WFG Investment Stockbroker Accused of Allegedly Defrauding Over 500 Senior Investors Agrees To Disgorge Ill-Gotten Earnings

Published on: May 5, 2008 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Sidney Mondschein, a former WFG Investment stockbroker, must disgorge $53,000 in ill-gotten gains he allegedly obtained when he defrauded over 500 senior investors by selling their confidential data to insurance brokers. Last month, Mondschein settled Securities and Exchange Commission charges before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. By settling, the SEC […]