Boca Raton Florida Stockbroker Misconduct Attorney - Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce

Sep 16, 2016

Robert W. Baird & Co. and Rolf Parker Griffith III Sanctioned for Supervisory Failures

Robert W. Baird & Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Rolf Parker Griffith III of Nashville, Tennessee submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent to the Department of Enforcement of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for allegedly failing to reasonably supervise a former registered representative’s misuse of customer funds. FINRA alleges that during the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014, Robert W. Baird & Co. failed to establish, maintain and enforce a supervisory system and written supervisory procedures for correcting trade errors that was reasonably designed to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations and rules. FINRA claimed the brokerage firm did not provide its supervisors with any training or guidance on how to review, approve or process trade corrections in violation of NASD Conduct Rule 3010 and FINRA Rule 2010. Without admitting or denying the FINRA findings, Robert W. Baird & Co. was censured and was ordered to pay a $200,000 fine and ordered to adopt and certify to FINRA that it put in place reasonable supervisory procedures for trade corrections to prevent abuse of customers.

Aug 29, 2016

Huntington Representative Barred, Ordered to Pay $800k Restitution for UIT Misrepresentations

David Miller of Columbus, Ohio was named Respondent in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) complaint that alleged he made negligent misrepresentations and omissions of material fact in connection with customers’ purchases of UITs. FINRA alleged that Mr. Miller recommended 140 UIT purchases totaling over $5.3 million in 129 customer accounts without having a reasonable basis to make the recommendations, in violation of FINRA Rules 2111 and 2010. From June 2008 through August 2013, Mr. Miller was registered as a General Securities Representative (GSR) with The Huntington Investment Company (Huntington), the broker-dealer affiliate of The Huntington National Bank (Huntington Bank). The FINRA complaint originated after Huntington filed a Form U5 on August 27, 2013, disclosing that Mr. Miller had “violated industry standards of conduct.” Upon investigation, FINRA found that Mr. Miller engaged in a pattern of recommending unsuitable UITs without having a reasonable basis for the recommendations, causing his customers to lose a total of $1,019,656.83.

Jul 27, 2016

Oakbridge Financial Advisor Under FINRA Investigation for Alleged “Church” Bond Scheme

Steven Larson of Nisswa, Minnesota was named as a Respondent in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) complaint that alleges he made “numerous misstatements or omissions of material facts concerning the present values and safety of church bonds.” These “church” bonds were issued by religious organizations to build, upgrade, or better church property and cannot be used directly to generate revenue. Mr. Larson has been associated with FINRA since 1993 as a broker dealer and has been registered with Oakbridge Financial Services, Inc. (Oakbridge) since August 2011. FINRA alleges that between May 2013 and March 2015, while associated with Oakbridge, Mr. Larson made a series of false statements and material omissions of fact, both to his customers and to FINRA.

May 18, 2016

Watch Out Investors—FINRA May Not Be Protecting You from Unscrupulous Brokers

Investors often hire a financial advisor to manage their money professionally because they lack the knowledge themselves and trust that their advisor will act in their best interest and uphold the industry rules and regulations set forth by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), lest they be disciplined or even barred from the financial industry. Unfortunately, as Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) writes in a letter she and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark) sent to the chairman of FINRA, Richard G. Ketchum, “…FINRA is not doing nearly enough to fulfill its investor protection mission.” A recent study of data from FINRA’s BrokerCheck database, conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), concluded that financial advisor misconduct is “broader than a few heavily publicized scandals” and that “one in thirteen financial advisers have a misconduct-related disclosure on their record” (See http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2739170). Financial advisor misconduct disclosures include such things as bribery, forgery, and fraud. The NBER study noted that only about half of the advisors who committed misconduct lost their job and 44% of those obtained a job at a different broker dealer within one year. One of the more disturbing findings of the NBER study is that approximately one-third of all financial advisors with misconduct records are repeat offenders.

Sep 25, 2015

Hollywood, Florida Wells Fargo Representative Barred for Converting Client Funds

Alejandro Torres of Hollywood, Florida submitted a Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent (AWC) to The Department of Enforcement of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for allegedly converting client funds, engaging in unapproved outside business activities and submitting material false information on a questionnaire to his broker dealer. Torres entered the securities industry in 2009 and has been associated with several FINRA-regulated broker-dealers since. In January 2013, Torres became associated with FINRA-regulated broker-dealer Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC (Wells Fargo) as a registered representative. On January 17, 2014 Torres was terminated as Wells Fargo filed a Uniform Termination notice for Securities Industry Registration (Form U5).

Sep 16, 2015

Tallahassee Florida Edward Jones Representative Barred for Misusing Customer Funds

William Hardy of Tallahassee, Florida submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) to The Department of Enforcement of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for allegedly misusing customer insurance premium funds. Hardy became registered in December 1985 and in 2002 became registered with NYLife Securities LLC (NYLife). Hardy was terminated from NYLife on March 12, 2014. FINRA found that from May 5, 2013 through July 17, 2013, while still associated with NYLife, Hardy misused customer insurance premium funds causing the clients policies to lapse.

Sep 11, 2015

New York Chase Investment Services Corporation Representative Suspended for Falsifying Signatures

Andres Rubert of New York submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) to the Department of Enforcement of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for allegedly falsifying several client signatures. Rubert entered the securities industry in 2006 and became associated with a FINRA-member firm. Between June 2010 and March 2012, Rubert was registered with Chase Investment Services Corporation (CISC).

Apr 29, 2015

Michael Korson Barred by FINRA for Failure to Disclose Outside Business Activities

Michael Willard Korson, a former registered representative with PFS Investments, Inc. (PFS Investments) and HBW Securities, LLC (HBW Securities) has been barred from association with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity for allegedly failing to report his outside business activities and other industry violations. Without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, Michael Korson consented to the sanctions and to the findings that he neglected to timely and accurately notify his member firm of his outside business activities. Mr. Korson also falsely stated when his involvement with the outside business first began. According to FINRA, Mr. Korson participated in private securities transactions, involving his outside business, with sales of convertible debentures to firm customers. He also participated in the sale of preferred stock to a non-customer without providing the necessary prior written notice to his firm.