Investment Fraud

Broker Keith M. Rogers Indicted on Securities Fraud Charges in Alabama

June 24, 2015 | Malecki Law Team

It was recently reported that Keith M. Rogers, formerly employed by GLS & Associates, Inc., a FINRA broker-dealer, has been indicted and held on $2 million bond on securities fraud charges, where it was reported that he took investors’ money to pay for personal expenses and repay other investors, a classic Ponzi scheme scenario. Previously, it was reported that Mr. Rogers was ordered by the Alabama Securities Commission to cease and desist from dealing in securities in the State of Alabama. In September 2014, Mr. Rogers apparently consented to a bar from the securities industry was barred from the securities industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for failing to cooperate in FINRA’s investigation into Mr. Roger’s alleged diversion of customer funds away from GLS brokerage accounts. According to the Administrative Order filed by the Alabama Securities Commission Mr. Rogers facilitated transactions in a company called R&P Development LLC from 2009 through 2013, when he was registered by GLS & Associates, Inc. and Warren Averett Asset Management.

FINRA specifies strict rules on a broker’s ability to solicit business to businesses that are not run by their employing broker-dealer. Malecki Law attorneys have seen instances where employing broker-dealers fail to properly supervise a broker’s activities. According to FINRA Rules, Broker-dealers like GLS & Associates Inc. have an important non-delegable duty to supervise the conduct of their financial advisors and employees. The firm may be held liable for customer losses if the firm failed to properly supervise their employees. If a broker violates FINRA Rules or securities laws, both the broker and the broker’s employing firm may be held liable for the customer’s losses.

Malecki Law has previously represented many investors successfully in FINRA arbitration proceedings involving outside business activities and firms’ failures to supervise their registered representatives and financial advisors. If you believe you have suffered losses as a result of questionable actions taken in your securities account, please contact us immediately for a confidential consultation.

Former Investment Advisor who Taught at University of Washington Pleads Guilty In Connection with Ponzi Scheme

May 20, 2015 | Malecki Law Team

A former University of Washington faculty member pled guilty in connection with a Ponzi scheme that lasted at least six years. It has been reported by the Washington State Sky Valley Chronicle on May 20, 2015 that Satyen Chatterjee, who owned and operated a financial advisory business called Strategic Capital Management, Inc. for more than twenty years. The news article reported that the Washington State Department of Financial Operations ordered the business to cease operating illegally in 2013. The guilty plea was also announced by the Federal Bureau of Investigations in a press release dated May 18, 2015.

According to the article, Mr. Chatterjee used his faculty post at the University of Washington to promote his advisory business. The article went on the detail that Mr. Chatterjee convinced investors to transfer funds on the belief they were purchasing fixed rate securities, when in reality he transferred the money to personal bank accounts to fund his lifestyle or lost the money day trading. Also detailed in the article was another scheme whereby Mr. Chatterjee solicited investments in a nutrient supplement company, but used that money to pay off investors who thought they invested in the fixed rate securities.

According to the FBI press release, Mr. Chatterjee admitted to the scheme to defraud investors during a period of 2007 to 2013. The FBI press release estimates that at least six investors were defrauded out of more than $600,000.

Can I Sue My Financial Advisor, Investment Advisor or Stockbroker?

May 19, 2015 | Malecki Law Team

Victims of securities fraud and negligence are entitled to receive damages to compensate them for their losses, as well as other remedies that may be available depending on the specific case. Frequently investors who have lost money in their investment accounts do not realize that they may be the victims of securities fraud and/or negligence on the part of their financial advisor (i.e., investment advisor and/or stockbroker).

Therefore, today we are going to answer the question:

“Can I sue my financial advisor, investment advisor or stockbroker?“

FINRA Bars Former Wells Fargo Broker Nicholas Hansen Harper

May 15, 2015 | Malecki Law Team

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has permanently barred Nicholas Hansen Harper. Harper worked in Wells Fargo’s Topeka, Kansas branch office from 1997 through 2013 according to his BrokerCheck Report.

Per the Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent filed with FINRA, Harper resigned from Wells Fargo on August 7, 2013, shortly after the firm’s compliance department began to review trading in the accounts of certain of his customers. The timing of Harper’s resignation can only serve to raise suspicions.

Presumably suspicious of Harper, in March of 2015, FINRA requested Harper provide testimony to FINRA investigators pursuant to Rule 8210. More than one month after the request was issues, FINRA staff spoke to Harper’s attorney, who purportedly indicated that Harper would not be appearing before FINRA to provide testimony at any time.

Malecki Law Announces Investigation of Former PrimeSolution Securities, Inc. Brokers Jeffrey Gainer, Jerry Cicolani, Jr. and Kelly Hood

May 11, 2015 | Malecki Law Team

This oil and gas investment was a bust, but not because of the current market conditions. According to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) court filings, brokers Jeffrey Gainer, Jerry Cicolani, Jr. and Kelly Hood were terminated from their employer PrimeSolutions Securities, Inc., a Cleveland, Ohio broker-dealer, as a result of marketing and recommending investments in KGTA Petroleum, Ltd. In its complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the SEC described KGTA Petroleum, Ltd. as a scam and Ponzi scheme. As reported recently by Crain’s Cleveland Business, the FBI announced on April 15, 2015 that Mr. Cicolani had been charged criminally as a result of selling unregistered KGTA Petroleum, Ltd. securities.

Brokers Gainer and Cicolani allegedly engaged in three separate fraudulent acts by recommending the KGTA investments without properly registering the securities, engaging in “selling away” activities by selling the KGTA investments not through their employer, PrimeSolutions Securities, Inc., and failing to disclose to their public investor customers the very large fees they earned as a result of the recommendations and placements. According to the SEC complaint, Brokers Gainer and Cicolani earned approximately $6 million in fees, or around 29% of all funds raised in the fraudulent KGTA investments.

The SEC detailed in its complaint that the investments KGTA Petroleum, Ltd. held by customers were often in the form of “promissory notes” or “agreements,” but really represented a typical Ponzi scheme, with interest and other payments made to old investors from the funds of new investors. The SEC complaint alleged that the scheme affected at least 57 customers.

JP Morgan Investigated By SEC and Other Authorities Over Sale of Proprietary Products

May 8, 2015 | Malecki Law Team

Is it okay for a broker-dealer to use bonuses and other incentives to encourage its financial advisors to steer customers into “in house” and proprietary funds that may not be right for them just to generate more fees for the firm? Or does this practice improperly (and illegally) incentivize the financial advisor to betray his customer’s trust for his and his firm’s benefit – thereby compromising the integrity of the relationship?

The SEC is asking just those types of questions about the practices of JP Morgan, according to recent reports. Per InvestmentNews, the SEC and other regulators have subpoenaed and otherwise inquired of JP Morgan about the firm’s sales practices. Specifically, the reports indicate that the focus seems to be on conflicts of interest related to the sales of mutual funds and other proprietary products to customers. The SEC is reportedly looking into whether JP Morgan breached duties to its customers and/or applicable laws by unfairly and/or illegally marketing its in house investment products.

The sale of in-house proprietary products can be a very lucrative business for large “wire houses” as they are known in the industry. Wire houses include such familiar names as JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, etc. By performing all of the structuring, issuing, lending and selling for their proprietary funds internally, a wire house is able to capture all of the associated fees, commissions and charges. Therefore, it is important that regulators review the sales of such in house products, to make sure they are being sold fairly and legally to customers.

FINRA Fines H. Beck, Inc., LaSalle St. Securities, LLC, and J.P. Turner & Company, LLC for Failing to Supervise Consolidated Reports

April 17, 2015 | Malecki Law Team

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced on March 30, 2015 that it fined H. Beck, Inc., LaSalle St. Securities, LLC, and J.P. Turner & Company, LLC for failing to supervise consolidated reports. These consolidated reports were provided to public customers, according to the announcement.

According to FINRA, “[a] consolidated report is a single document that combines information regarding most or all of a customer’s financial holdings, regardless of where those assets are held,” and does not replace monthly reports received from the firm.

In the announcement, FINRA cited to FINRA Regulatory Notice 10-19. A regulatory Notice is used by FINRA to remind its members of obligations required by FINRA Rules and securities laws. In Regulatory Notice 10-19, FINRA made clear that:

FINRA Fines Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. $3.75 Million for Failing to Supervise Broker

April 14, 2015 | Malecki Law Team

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced on March 26, 2015 that it fined Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. for failing to supervise Mark Hotton, a former broker who allegedly stole money from his clients accounts and excessively traded their accounts. FINRA had already barred Mr. Hotton from the securities industry in 2013.

According to FINRA’s announcement, Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. failed to supervise Mr. Hotton in many respects, including during his hire and during his employment, as well as failed to supervise the accounts he was trading. Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. failed to supervise Mr. Hotton during his hire by failing to consider 12 prior reportable events that occurred in Mr. Hotton’s past, including criminal events and seven customer complaints, according to FINRA.

FINRA also announced that Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. failed to supervise Mr. Hotton during his employment by failing to subject him to heightened supervision despite learning that his business partners had allegedly sued him for fraud resulting in several million dollars’ damages. Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. may have been required to subject Mr. Hotton to heightened supervision, a more expensive and time-consuming manner of supervision, because of the number of past customer complaints against him while employed at other firms or while at Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. To may matters worse, FINRA noted that Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. further failed to supervise Mr. Hotton by failing to investigate “red flags” in correspondences and wire requests that could have signaled potential violations of securities laws and industry rules. FINRA alleged that Mr. Hotton was wiring funds out of customers’ accounts to accounts he owned or controlled.

White House Takes a Closer Look at Brokers Who Manage Retirement Accounts

January 23, 2015 | Malecki Law Team

A memo drafted by Jason Furman, one of President Obama’s top economic advisors, entitled “Draft Conflict of Interest Rule for Retirement Savings” was reportedly obtained by Bloomberg News.

The memo cites research that says investors may lose between $8 billion and $17 billion per year as a result of stockbroker/financial advisor practices, such as excessive trading commissions. That number, while astonishing, may even be an underestimate according to some people.

As a result, some on Capitol Hill are calling for stricter rules on Wall Street.

Investors in Diversified Lending Group May Be Able to Pursue FINRA Arbitration to Recover Losses After Class Certification Bid Was Rejected

January 20, 2015 | Malecki Law Team

Investors in Diversified Lending Group Inc., allegedly solicited by Tony Russon and other agents who worked under him at Russon Financial Services, may be able to sue Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in FINRA Arbitration after their California class action failed to obtain certification. In Los Angeles this past week, a California Superior Court judge in Cantor et al. v. MetLife Inc. et al. rejected the class certification bid from 212 investors whose claims were based on being the victims of an alleged Ponzi scheme said to involve fraudulent investments sold by agents of MetLife and subsidiary New England Life Insurance Co.

It has been alleged that MetLife and New England Life failed to properly supervise Mr. Russon and others while they were unlawfully convincing investors to place large sums of money with Diversified Lending Group Inc. According to reports, DLG was run by alleged Ponzi schemer, Bruce Friedman. Investors reportedly lost millions to the scheme, devastating themselves and their families.

However, all may not be lost for investors after the class failed certification. Investors may be able to pursue their claims in FINRA arbitration. Arbitration works similarly to court proceedings in many ways, and it is a forum in which victimized investors regularly recover losses resulting from Ponzi schemes and other fraudulent investments.