Malecki Law is investigating potential claims by investors relating to Dennis C. Lee, a former AXA Advisors, LLC broker who was recently terminated by the firm in April 2015. According to Mr. Lee’s publicly available Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck report, he was “discharged for failing to disclose financial…
Beware of alternative investments. A Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) was recently accepted by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA’s) Department of Enforcement from Robert Michael Diehl. Mr. Diehl was accused of bypassing firm policy in order to sell equity indexed annuities (“EIAs”) while a registered representative of…
FINRA has announced that it has fined Aegis Capital Corp. $950,000 for sales of unregistered penny stocks and anti-money laundering violations. According to FINRA, this fine was also related to supervisory failures within the firm. The firm was not the only one that FINRA appears to have come down hard…
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.…
It was an eventful week at Malecki Law with prominent stories in the press, speaking engagements at legal educational organizations, appointments to bar association committees, and introduction to securities fraud in different communities. Malecki Law announced the filing of a $25 million FINRA claim against UBS Puerto Rico on…
A Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) was recently accepted by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA’s) Department of Enforcement from Adrian S. Lauer. Mr. Lauer was accused of failing to disclose outside business activities on his Form U4 and to his employer. Specifically, Mr. Lauer was accused of violating FINRA…
According to a Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), Thomas Buck has been barred by FINRA from working with any FINRA member firms. Mr. Buck was a former top broker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and was at the time a…
Per reports, William Galvin, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, recently filed complaints against Securities America and its broker Barry Armstrong over allegedly misleading advertisements that targeted vulnerable seniors. Securities America allegedly participated in and failed to supervise Mr. Armstrong, in conducting a misleading radio advertising campaign. In what…
This week, the attorneys at Malecki Law sent letters to several United States Senate and House of Representatives members, urging them to support the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposal to hold financial advisors to a higher standard and act in the best interest of retirement investors. These members of the…
“My broker dealer wants me to meet with its lawyers.” This is the start of a FINRA registered representative’s worst nightmare. Your heart is pounding and your head starts to race. “Why me?” “What do they want to know?” “What could I have done?” “Are they going to ask me…