Jan 22, 2015

Former LPL Financial Broker Jodie Miller Suspended for Sales of Unregistered Tri-Med Securities

Jodie Linn Miller, a former broker with Tampa, Florida based LPL Financial, Inc. (LPL) and VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc. (VALIC), submitted a letter of acceptance, waiver, and consent in which she consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that she participated in unauthorized sales of unregistered Tri-Med securities to 14 investors. FINRA found that Jodie Miller, of St. Petersburg, Florida, participated in the sale of unregistered Tri-Med notes to 14 investors. The Tri-Med notes ranged from $10,000 to $150,000 and Ms. Miller allegedly received approximately $38,225 in commissions from Tri-Med for the sales. According to FINRA, Ms. Miller neglected to tell both LPL and VALIC about her involvement with Tri-Med, nor did she obtain the necessary approval from the member firms to sell the unregistered Tri-Med notes.

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Jan 13, 2015

Former LPL Financial and Financial Network Stockbroker Robert Mangold Suspended by FINRA

Robert Charles Mangold, a former registered representative with Financial Network Investment Corporation (Financial Network) and LPL Financial LLC (LPL) submitted a letter of acceptance, waiver, and consent in which he consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) sanction and findings that he solicited and received $56,000 in loans from two customers.

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Dec 30, 2014

FINRA Fines and Suspends Calton & Associates’ Dennis Witthoeft for Discretionary Trade Violations

Dennis Todd Witthoeft, a Wesley Chapel, Florida based broker with Calton & Associates, Inc. (Calton), consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that he improperly exercised discretion in a customer’s account. While employed with Calton & Associates, Inc., of Tampa, Florida, FINRA found that Dennis Witthoeft exercised improper discretion when he effected a total of 61 stock and option transactions in a customer’s account at the end of the business days on which the customer had authorized the transations. Further, Dennis Witthoeft allegedly neglected to obtain written authorization from the customer allowing such use of discretion and the account had not been accepted by Calton as a discretionary account.

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Dec 1, 2014

FINRA Files Complaint Against Former Edward Jones Broker Candius Bannister

Candius J. Bannister, of Sarasota, Florida, was named a respondent in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) complaint alleging that she borrowed $31,500 from a customer in violation of her member firm’s and FINRA’s rules. Formerly registered with both Edward Jones and Morgan Stanley, both Florida based broker dealers, the now unregistered Candius Bannister is alleged to have borrowed a total of $31,500 from a customer while employed with Edward Jones. She allegedly has not repaid the loans, as required by the promissory notes, and she allegedly neglected to request or receive pre-approval from Edward Jones with respect to the loans. Candius Bannister is alleged to have violated the rules of both Edward Jones and FINRA as a result of these transactions.

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Nov 21, 2014

FINRA Fines and Suspends Herbert Kaye for Discretionary Trade Violations and Unsuitable Recommendations

Herbert Leonard Kaye, a Delray Beach, Florida based broker with First Allied Securities, Inc. (First Allied), submitted a letter of acceptance, waiver, and consent in which he consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that he entered discretionary trades in a customer’s account without the necessary prior written customer authorization. FINRA found that although Herbert Kaye had the verbal consent of his customer, he neglected to obtain the necessary written consent when he entered over 2,000 trades in equities and exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the customer’s account and generated over $173,000 in commissions. FINRA’s findings state that Herbert Kaye also recommended that his customer invest $1.1 million in a gold and precious minerals mutual fund, for which he received $11,000 in gross commissions. This mutual fund recommendation was unsuitable in light of the customer’s age, investment objectives, and the fact that Herbert Kaye allegedly knew that his customer wanted to avoid investments with large market fluctuations.

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Nov 19, 2014

James Eastman Fined and Suspended by FINRA for Unauthorized Securities Transactions

James Clifford Eastman, a former broker with Westport, Connecticut based Westport Resources Investment Services, Inc. (Westport), submitted a letter of acceptance, waiver, and consent in which he consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that he participated in private securities transactions without giving prior written notice to Westport and without receiving the necessary approval from his employer. FINRA found that James Eastman referred three Westport customers to invest in an oil and gas limited partnership offered by Quest Energy Management Group, Inc. (Quest). The offering interest was in the Permian Advanced Oil Recovery Investment Fund 1, LP (Permian). Mr. Eastman referred the three Westport customers to Quest, allegedly assisting the customers in obtaining the investment funds from their Westport brokerage accounts in order to effect the transactions. FINRA stated that the customers invested $875,000 in the Permian securities offering.

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Oct 31, 2014

Ane Plate Permanently Barred by FINRA for Unauthorized Trades Made For Personal Benefit

Ane S. Plate, a former registered representative with Orlando, Florida based Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (Wells Fargo), consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the sanction and the entry of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that she effected 15 unauthorized trades from a customer’s Wells Fargo account, and converted the proceeds of those unauthorized trades for her personal use and benefit.

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Oct 24, 2014

Former PFS Investments Broker Darwin Hayle Permanently Barred For Misappropriating Investor Funds

Former PFS Investments Inc. (PFS) broker Darwin Hayle has been banned from the financial industry and fined $42,500 for allegedly misappropriating investor funds. Darwin Hayle, of Boca Raton, Florida, allegedly sold promissory notes to his clients, claiming the notes were backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), according to the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (FL-OFR) complaint. However, Darwin Hayle allegedly showed the investors false documents which included a forged signature of an SBA representative. The FL-OFR never approved those promissory notes as legal securities and they were never guaranteed by the SBA.

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Oct 22, 2014

Jose Fernando Lozano Fined and Suspended for Unauthorized Letter of Authorization

Jose Lozano, a broker formerly employed with Miami, Florida-based ITAU International Securities, Inc. (ITAU International), submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that he affixed customer signatures to wire transfer instructions to facilitate the transfer of funds for the purchase of property. According to FINRA, Jose Lozano, of Miami, Florida, had two of the three customers who jointly held ITAU International accounts sign a Letter of Authorization (LOA) that included wire instructions which authorized the transfer of $150,000 from a third-party broker-dealer to the seller of the property. The third-party broker-dealer declined the transfer, however, due to the transfer being sent to a third-party recipient.

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