Brokerage Firms In The News - Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce

Sep 25, 2014

Wells Fargo Advisors Fined $5 Million for Failure to Prevent Employee’s Insider Trading

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Wells Fargo Advisors with failing to maintain adequate controls in order to prevent one of its employees from using confidential customer information to engage in insider trading. Additionally, the SEC charged Wells Fargo Advisors with producing an altered document in a compliance review of the broker’s trading activities. This case, in which Wells Fargo has agreed to the monetary penalty of $5 million, is the first time the SEC has charged a brokerage firm for its failure to protect a customer’s confidential information, an important ruling at a time when many peoples’ personal information is reportedly being compromised due to computer hacking. According to the SEC’s order, a Wells Fargo broker received confidential information from a customer that Burger King was being acquired by private equity firm 3G Capital Partners. The broker, Waldyr Da Silva Prado Neto (Prado), then used that confidential information to enact trades ahead of the public announcement. The SEC has also charged Prado with insider trading, freezing his assets to prevent any transfers of the ill-gotten profits, alleged to be $175,000. The SEC’s order goes on to state that multiple groups responsible for compliance or supervision at Wells Fargo were told of the broker’s misuse of customer information, but failed to act. According to Andrew J. Ceresney, Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, “When investors entrust private information to their stockbrokers or investment advisors, they have the right to expect that it will not be exploited.” Wells Fargo admitted to the SEC’s findings and agreed to pay the $5 million penalty. Section 15(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 204A of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 require broker-dealers and investments advisers to establish, maintain, and enforce policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent the misuse of material nonpublic information. Brokerage firms like Wells Fargo Advisors have a legal duty to protect their customers’ confidential information and to supervise their brokers to ensure compliance and prevent violations of the rules and regulations of the securities industry.

Jul 28, 2014

Novice Investor Wiped Out by Merrill Lynch Stockbroker

This arbitration arises from a series of unsuitable recommendations by a Merrill Lynch financial advisor for the Claimant to purchase and hold overconcentrated, leveraged Puerto Rico bonds in a Merrill Lynch account. As a result of Merrill Lynch and its employee, the Claimant suffered substantial investment losses.

Jul 24, 2014

Brookville Capital Partners and Anthony Lodati Named in FINRA Complaint for Alleged Fraud

Melville, New York-based Brookville Capital Partners LLC (Brookville Capital) and the firm’s president, Anthony F. Lodati, were named in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) complaint alleging that the firm and Mr. Lodati defrauded investors in connection with a private placement offering. According to the complaint, Brookville Capital and Mr. Lodati solicited customers to invest in a private placement offering that failed to disclose material facts about an individual involved in the offering. Anthony Lodati allegedly learned that the individual, who had effected transactions on behalf of the private placement, had been fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for securities fraud and had been convicted of a felony by the state of Florida. The FINRA complaint alleges that Mr. Lodati failed to inform any of the potential investors of the individual’s involvement. Moreover, the private placement memorandum (PPM) allegedly made no mention of the individual or of his regulatory or criminal background.

Jul 22, 2014

Santander Securities Broker Switches Investors Into Unsuitable Closed End Funds

This arbitration arises out of a Santander stockbroker’s unsuitable investment decision with regard to the Claimants’ Santander investment account which was reinvested and overconcentrated in Puerto Rico, resulting in the Claimants suffering substantial monetary losses.

Jul 15, 2014

Weston Capital Asset Management and Albert Hallac Named in SEC Complaint for Misusing Investor Funds

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged hedge fund advisory firm Weston Capital Asset Management LLC (Weston Capital), of West Palm Beach, FL, and its founder and president, Albert Hallac, for allegedly shifting money from one investment to another without informing investors and investing contrary to the hedge fund’s stated investment strategy. The SEC complaint states that Albert Hallac, with the assistance of Weston Capital’s former general counsel Keith Wellner, allegedly drained over $17 million from a hedge fund they managed, Wimbledon Fund SPC Class TT Segregated Portfolio (TT Portfolio) and transferred the funds to Swartz IP Services Group, Inc. (Swartz IP), a consulting and investment firm.

Jul 8, 2014

Salomon Whitney Fined By FINRA For Failure To Supervise ETF Sales

Salomon Whitney LLC of Farmingdale, New York consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the described sanctions and to the entry of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that it failed to establish a supervisory system with regard to the sale of non-traditional exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including leveraged, inverse and inverse-leveraged ETFs. FINRA’s findings stated that despite the risks involved with holding non-traditional ETFs for longer time periods, numerous Moloney Securities customers held the ETFs for extended periods. Some even allegedly held the ETFs for several months. FINRA found that Moloney Securities failed to adequately train its registered representatives and supervisors with respect to the features, characteristics, and the risks involved with non-traditional ETFs, especially the risks associated with longer-term holds of the ETFs. According to FINRA, Salomon Whitney made unsuitable ETF recommendations and failed to conduct an adequate suitability analysis of the non-traditional ETFs before offering them to its customers. Consequently, Salomon Whitney was censured and fined $30,000.

Jul 2, 2014

Ricky Bell Named in FINRA Complaint for Soliciting Customers Into Outside “Lending Program”

Ricky Eugene Bell, a former Fayetteville, North Carolina-based registered representative with Cape Fear Securities, Inc., was named a respondent in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) complaint alleging that he solicited firm customers to invest in an outside “lending program.” Mr. Bell allegedly offered the investment opportunity to his “select customers and closest friends,” according to the FINRA complaint. The complaint alleges that Mr. Bell received a total of approximately $247,500 from customer investments and that he also borrowed approximately $19,650 from firm customers without permission or firm approval.

Jun 30, 2014

Moloney Securities Fined by FINRA for Unsuitable ETF Recommendations

Moloney Securities Co, Inc. of Manchester, Missouri consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the described sanctions and to the entry of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that it failed to establish a supervisory system with regard to the sale of non-traditional exchange-traded funds (ETFs). According to FINRA, Moloney Securities permitted its representatives to recommend and sell non-traditional ETFs to customers even though the firm neglected to provide its supervisors or its representatives with training or guidance as to whether these complex and risky investments were suitable for the investors. FINRA’s findings stated that Moloney Securities neither utilized nor made available to supervisory personnel reports or other tools to monitor length of time the ETFs were held or the losses which occurred in those hold positions. Consequently, Moloney Securities was censured and fined $20,000.

Jun 26, 2014

Infinex Investments Fined and Ordered to Pay Restitution to Customers Over Unsuitable ETF Recommendations

Infinex Investments, Inc. (Infinex) of Meriden, Connecticut consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the described sanctions and to the entry of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that it neglected to perform reasonable due diligence regarding the sale of non-traditional exchange-traded funds (ETFs). According to FINRA, Infinex failed to properly review non-traditional ETFs prior to offering them for sale to customers. FINRA found that the firm allowed its representatives to recommend the ETFs to customers even though those representatives had minimal training on the risks and features of non-traditional ETFs, thereby making unsuitable recommendations and putting customers at unnecessary risk for investment losses. Consequently, Infinex Investments was censured, fined $75,000 by FINRA, and ordered to pay more than $287,000 in restitution to customers.

Jun 25, 2014

Dawson James Securities Fined by FINRA For Inadequate Supervision

Dawson James Securities, Inc. (Dawson James) of Boca Raton, Florida consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the described sanctions and to the entry of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that it’s written supervisory procedures (WSPs) did not meet the minimum requirements in several areas, resulting in a $75,000 fine by FINRA.