According to a recent Acceptance, Waiver & Consent (“AWC”) submitted by broker Brian Berger with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Mr. Berger has been banned from associating with a broker-dealer in the securities industry. According to the AWC, in June 2015 FINRA “initiated an investigation into allegations that Mr. Berger had misappropriated funds from elderly customers with registered with Wells Fargo Advisors LLC and MetLife Securities, Inc.” Mr. Berger was reported to be licensed by Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC from July 2010 through July 2014, and with MetLife Securities, Inc. from July 2014 to April 2015. It is further reported that he was briefly licensed by a different broker-dealer named Newbridge Securities Corporation from April to June 2015.
As stated in the AWC, Mr. Berger did not to voluntarily participate in FINRA’s investigation, and as a result was barred from the securities industry.
Mr. Berger’s publicly available CRD Report describes several customer complaints that he has faced since 2011. The CRD Report shows that a customer alleged that there were unauthorized payments made against the customer’s account for discover card accounts owned by the financial advisor. Though reported that the customer alleged damages of approximately $175,000, the allegations were reported as settled for approximately $186,000.
Mr. Berger’s publicly available CRD Report also discloses that he was discharged from his employment with MetLife Securities, Inc. because he “did not follow company policy with respect to customer signatures on account documents.”
FINRA Rules and securities industry regulations make clear that brokers must be supervised to ensure against securities law violations. Malecki Law has successfully brought many securities actions on behalf of investors who suffered losses as a result of unscrupulous actions taken in their securities accounts. Broker-dealers are required by the securities laws and industry rules to supervise the recommendations of their brokers and performance of their customers’ accounts, and may be liable to investors for their failure to do so. If you believe you have suffered losses as a result of questionable securities recommended to you, or questionable actions taken in your securities account, please contact us immediately for a confidential consultation.