Last week, a New York City panel of arbitrators with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) unanimously awarded an investor represented by Malecki Law over $200,000 in damages, plus attorneys’ fees of $67,000 and 5% interest dating back to May 2018. The panel’s award found the New Jersey-based brokerage firm…
Articles Posted in Problem Brokers
Former Broker Jovannie Aquino Barred for Allegedly Churning Customer Accounts
Former Windsor Capital broker, Jovannie Aquino has been barred from working in the industry by the Securities and Exchange Commission after allegedly churning his retail customers’ accounts. The SEC further alleged that Mr. Aquino executed trades in client’s accounts during his time as a registered representative at Windsor Capital between…
San Diego-Based Investment Advisor with Criminal Past Allegedly Defrauds Investors in Ponzi Scheme
San Diego-based investment advisor, Christopher Dougherty has been arrested for allegedly defrauding mostly senior investors in a multi-million-dollar Ponzi Scheme. The District Attorney’s office charged Mr. Dougherty with 82 felonies that include grand theft, financial elder abuse and securities fraud for activity between 2015 and 2018. According to allegations, Dougherty…
Broker Alert! FINRA Suspended Corey Lee Mireau for Allegedly Burrowing Customer Money
Former Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc broker Corey Lee Mireau (CRD#3046777) has recently been suspended for two years from the industry after having agreed to the entry of findings alleging his failure to disclose loans from customers, private securities transactions, and outside business activities. As part of his letter of Acceptance,…
Former Financial Advisor Runs Fraudulent Scheme Targeting Vulnerable Elderly Investors
A former Wells Fargo registered representative in Daytona, Ohio is facing charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission for defrauding investors out of over a million dollars in a fraudulent scheme that targeted seniors. The SEC filed a complaint against John Gregory Schmidt with the United States District Court for…
Broker Alert! FINRA banned alleged Ponzi Scheme Perpetrator Steven Pagartanis
Barred FINRA-registered broker Steve Pagartanis, of Suffolk County, N.Y, is facing charges by the SEC and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office for allegedly running a multi-million-dollar Ponzi Scheme that bilked long-term investors, many of them seniors, for 18 years. In May 2018, the SEC filed a civil complaint against…
Another brokerage firm, Alexander Capital L.P Has Been Charged for Failing to Properly Supervise Brokers for Fraudulent Activity Harming Investors
The SEC charged New York-based FINRA regulated brokerage firm Alexander Capital L.P. (CRD # 40077)as well as two of its managers for failing to supervise three registered brokers, William C. Gennity, Rocco Roveccio, and Laurence M. Torres last Friday. The alleged supervisory failures are concerning charges against the brokers for…
Help! I Just Lost My Entire Investment in the VIX
Wall Street is constantly crafting complex and volatile products that somehow end up in the investment accounts on Main Street. The latest turbulence in the stock markets has already been in part attributed to one of the latest Wall Street machinations: exchange-traded-products (ETPs) linked to volatile exchanges – specifically, products…
Huge Win for Investors and Malecki Law Against Morgan Stanley
Yesterday, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel in Boca Raton, Florida awarded Malecki Law attorneys $397,823.00 for principal investment losses against Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC. Malecki Law brought the case on behalf of an elderly and retired couple with conservative investment objectives on claims that Morgan Stanley…
What Can We Learn About Investing from NBA-Legend Tim Duncan? – Part 2 of 2
This is Part 2 of an article we posted last week on former NBA-great, Tim Duncan, where we introduced the investing lessons that could be gleaned from Duncan’s relationship with his former financial adviser, Charles A. Banks, who was permanently barred from the securities industry and is now serving a…