Boca Raton Florida FINRA Investigation Lawyer - Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce

Wells Fargo Broker Permanently Barred by FINRA for Outside Business Activities

Valentino Infante, a former General Securities Registered Representative with the Miami, Florida office of Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC (Wells Fargo), has been permanently barred from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) due to findings that he engaged in outside business activities without providing his member firm with prior written notice and for failing to appear at a FINRA on-the-record interview. According to FINRA, Valentino Infante, of Miami, Florida, established a limited liability company in Florida and, on two occasions, solicited a Wells Fargo customer to provide funding for the business. Mr. Infante neglected to obtain his member firm’s approval to engage in the outside business activities, as required by FINRA Rule 3270.

Jun 24, 2015

Legend Securities Stockbroker Receives Complaint for Fraud

FINRA has filed a complaint against Richard Gomez of Jackson Heights, New York for allegedly defrauding investors of close to half a million dollars. Gomez, who was a registered representative with Legend Securities Inc. between June and December 2011, allegedly offered investors the opportunity to purchase membership interests in Praetorian Global Fund, Ltd. (Praetorian) and its affiliate companies. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Praetorian Global Fund was supposed to grant investors an opportunity to invest in a pre-initial public offering (IPO) with shares of Facebook, Groupon and Zynga. Gomez allegedly sold $394,000 worth of shares of the fraudulent company and made at least $22,000 in commissions. Gomez allegedly failed to conduct proper due diligence and missed multiple red flags regarding Praetorian. The “principal place of business” for Praetorian was a residential apartment in Boca Raton, Florida but the mailing address was that of “The UPS Store” in Boca Raton. In addition, Praetorian’s fund manager had a lengthy criminal record that included multiple convictions of grand theft, and other members affiliated with the company have been named defendants in multiple lawsuits alleging fraudulent business practices.