508 search results found for “Boca Raton Florida Stockbroker Misconduct Attorney”

Phillip Gainey Fined and Suspended by FINRA for Selling Away Equity-Indexed Annuities

An annuity is a form of insurance that offers a series of payments for a period of time. The traditional annuities are either fixed or variable. Fixed annuities are invested in conservative investments, and the return to investors may vary, but a minimum rate of return is established. Variable annuities are higher in risk when compared to fixed annuities and depend on how the stock market is performing. Variable annuity buyers have the option to allocate the cash invested into different asset classes such as mutual funds, indices, fixed income investments or bonds, and money market.

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Peter Bruno Fined and Suspended by FINRA for Unsuitable and Unauthorized Transactions

NASD Rule 2310 known as the “Suitability Rule” provides that a stockbroker who recommends the purchase or sale of a security to have “reasonable grounds” for believing that the recommendation is suitable for the customer based on the facts disclosed by the customer relating to his investment objectives and financial situation and needs. Apparently, Mr. Bruno recommended an unsuitable closed-end bond fund for a customer who listed his investment objective as “preservation of capital” and his risk tolerance as “conservative.” The customer was retired and needed the monies deposited into his account within the next year and a half. By recommending the investment in a closed-end bond fund which was subject to volatility based on interest rates, the customer was exposed to unnecessary losses if he needed to liquidate the funds at a time when they had declined in value. This recommendation was inconsistent with the customer’s conservative risk tolerance and objective to preserve capital that he needed the next year.

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Joseph Giordano Barred By FINRA for Sales of Unregistered and Unsuitable Debentures

Joseph Anthony Giordano, former Registered Principal of Capital Investment Group, Inc. (CIG) of Annapolis, Maryland and more recently with Meyers Associates, L.P. of Edgewater, Maryland, 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) sanctions and findings for the distribution and solicitation of unregistered Empire debentures, the solicitation of which was prohibited by CIG, and for making unsuitable recommendations to his customers.

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Conflicts of Interest In 401(k) Retirement-Plan Rollovers Are Prevalent

The lawyers at Robert Wayne Pearce, P. A. are well aware of the conflicts of interest of financial advisors who recommend to prospective clients that they withdraw funds from their 401(k) retirement plans and roll them over into an IRA account at the brokerage firm when they terminate their employment. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has finally woken up and given notice to all registered financial advisors and their employers that the pitch to move funds to IRA rollover accounts must be “fair and balanced;” two words that are foreign to many financial advisors.

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Edward Scro Permanently Barred by FINRA for Unsuitable Recommendations To Elderly Customers

Edward Francis Scro, a former Registered Representative of the now un-registered financial advisory company NelsonReid, Inc., was permanently barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for making unsuitable recommendations to his elderly customers. According to FINRA’s findings, Mr. Scro, of Naples, Florida, advised his elderly customers, who needed a stable monthly income, to invest in risky, illiquid investments, sold primarily by Private Placement Memoranda (PPMs).

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Michael Barina Fined and Suspended by FINRA for Unsuitable Private Placement Recommendations

Longwood, Florida-based registered representative Michael Anthony Barina, employed by Altamonte Springs, Florida-based Merrimac Corporate Securities, Inc., 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) sanctions and findings that he recommended an investment in a private placement investment pool without sufficiently understanding the entity’s investment strategy or its parameters. FINRAs findings stated that the entity’s investment strategy included investing up to 25% of its assets in a single security and engaging in options trading. According to FINRA, Mr. Barina allegedly “lacked a reasonable basis to believe that the entity was a suitable investment for the customers,” thereby making an unsuitable recommendation.

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FINRA Bars Raymond James Broker Paul Arnold for Misappropriation

According to FINRA, Raymond James and Associates, Inc. (Raymond James) stockbroker Paul David Arnold (Arnold) misappropriated and misused funds of an 88-year-old customer. The regulator alleged that during the period May 2010 through April 2011 that Arnold, a stockbroker in Raymond James’ Largo, Florida office, had customers sign blank checks that Arnold later made payable to his own wife and son without the customer’s authorization. FINRA found that Arnold misappropriated and misused $173,600 in customers’ funds. Arnold did not contest the charges and failed to appear for testimony on two separate occasions. The customer received an arbitration award against Arnold and appears to have settled his claim against the broker-dealer. Arnold has been permanently barred from serving in any capacity in the securities industry.

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Martinez-Ayme Securities Sanctioned Again For Securities Law Violations

The Martinez-Ayme Financial Group Inc. D/B/A Martinez-Ayme Securities was recently sanctioned by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for alleged violations of Rule 101 of Regulation M of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the self-regulatory agencies rules in connection with a series of private placement offerings, including a company described as CPWV. This company’s business was the development, commercialization and marketing of a series of electric generating power systems designed to produce electrical power with zero omissions or waste byproducts.

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