Articles Tagged with unsuitable

The securities fraud attorneys at Malecki Law are interested in hearing from investors who have complaints against stockbroker Michael Margiotta.  Mr. Margiotta has been employed and registered since June 2015 with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., a broker-dealer, according to his publicly available BrokerCheck, as maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Per his BrokerCheck report, prior to his employment Merrill Lynch, Mr. Margiotta was employed by UBS Financial Services Inc. from October 2008 to June 2015, and with Citigroup Global Markets Inc. from December 2003 to November 2008, as well as other prior firms.

Mr. Margiotta’s BrokerCheck report indicates that he has received two customer complaints.  The first complaint received by Mr. Margiotta involved allegations that he purchased securities that were unsuitable for the investor and sought damages of $1 million, according to the BrokerCheck report.  That complaint resulted in a settlement to the investor of $355,000 to the investor the BrokerCheck report details.  The second complaint received by Mr. Margiotta alleged unsuitability and that the broker informed the client “oil had bottomed out for sure prompting [the investor] to purchase securities which plummeted,” according to BrokerCheck records.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today a complaint filed against Hank Marker Werner for allegations including securities fraud for churning the account of a senior-aged blind widow customer and for making excessive and unsuitable trading recommendations in a News Release.

According to his publicly available BrokerCheck report records maintained by FINRA, Mr. Werner was employed and licensed by Legend Securities, Inc. from December 2012 to March 2016.  Prior to working at Legend Securities, Inc., he was employed by Liberty Partners Financial Services, LLC from July to December 2012, Brookstone Securities, Inc. from March 2011 to June 2012, and Alexander Capital, LP from November 2009 to March 2011, per Mr. Werner’s BrokerCheck report.

FINRA’s News Release detailed that Mr. Werner allegedly engaged in a deceptive and fraudulent scheme by churning the elderly client’s over the course of three years “to maximize his compensation by charging more than $243,000 in commissions, while causing the customer approximately $184,000 in net losses.”  The News Release also stated:

The investment and securities fraud attorneys at Malecki Law are interested in hearing from investors who have complaints regarding Alexander Capital LP financial advisor Rocco Guidicipietro.

According to his BrokerCheck report maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), Mr. Guidicipietro was most recently with Legend Securities and JP Turner prior to that.

Mr. Guidicipietro has at least four reportable disclosures on his FINRA record, including three customer disputes and a regulatory event.

The investment and securities fraud attorneys at Malecki Law are interested in hearing from investors who have complaints regarding Aegis Capital Corp. financial advisor Robert Guidicipietro.

According to his BrokerCheck report maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), Mr. Guidicipietro was most recently with JP Turner and Obsidian Financial prior to moving to Aegis Capital in 2012. According to industry records, Obsidian was expelled by FINRA in 2013, not long after Mr. Guidicipietro left the firm.

Mr. Guidicipietro has at least nine reportable disclosures on his FINRA record, including a civil judgment/lien, multiple customer disputes, multiple regulatory events and an “employment separation after allegations.”

The investment and securities fraud attorneys at Malecki Law are interested in hearing from investors who have complaints regarding Oppenheimer & Co. financial advisor Anthony Manougian. According to his BrokerCheck report maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), Mr. Manougian left Morgan Stanley Smith Barney “after allegations.”

In 2012, Mr. Manougian was recently the subject of an employment separation after allegations, per FINRA records. BrokerCheck indicates that there were “concerns regarding FA’s conduct and status as beneficiary in connection with a client estate.”

Mr. Manougian has also reportedly been the subject of two customer disputes, which were denied, per the Broker Comment on Mr. Manougian’s BrokerCheck.

Malecki Law’s team of investment attorneys are interested in hearing from investors who have complaints regarding National Securities Corporation broker Christopher Jones. Mr. Jones was previously licensed through Citigroup and other firms, per industry records.

According to his BrokerCheck report maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), Mr. Jones was recently the subject of two customer disputes.

Mr. Jones’ FINRA records indicate that in 20110, a client alleged “suitability, material misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, omissions, and negligence.” This case was reportedly settled for $24,500.

According to a recent InvestmentNews article, Preferred Apartment Communities Inc. began selling an investment known as a Nontraded Preferred Share after 2011.  The article detailed that the investment is redeemable back to Preferred Apartment Communities Inc. after five years, and if the investor needs to redeem it before five years, they must pay a redemption fee that decreases over time.  If the investor seeks to redeem during the first year, the redemption fee is 13%, according to the article.

Nontraded REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) have long been an area of concern for securities regulators like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) because they are generally illiquid investments that pay high upfront commissions to the brokers who sell them.

Nontraded REITs pose suitability concerns for investors.  Brokers who recommend them must make sure the investors are not over-concentrated in the investment, and that they have disclosed all of the risks associated with them, including the investment’s illiquid nature and the high fees earned, leading to questions of whether the investment is in the best interest of the investor.

Malecki Law’s team of investment attorneys are interested in speaking with those who invested in AR Global REITs. Industry analysts and consultants believe that investors in a number of AR Global-sponsored real estate investment trusts (REITs) are in danger of having their distributions cut, per InvestmentNews.

Specifically, investors in American Realty Capital Global Trust II, American Realty Capital New York City REIT, American Finance Trust, American Realty Capital Hospitality Trust, American Realty Capital Retail Centers of America, Healthcare Trust, and Realty Finance Trust may be at risk, according to the report.

The problem is said to stem from the MFFO (modified funds from operations a/k/a cash flow) at seven of AR Global’s REITs. The MFFO of these seven funds reportedly failed to match or exceed their distributions. In simple terms, this would mean that the funds failed to take in as much as they were distributing. Such a situation has the potential to mean big trouble for investors including distribution cuts and rapid decline in asset value – i.e., less income and large losses to the principal.

The investment and securities fraud attorneys at Malecki Law are interested in hearing from investors who have complaints regarding Wells Fargo financial advisor Robert Ross.  According to his BrokerCheck report maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), Mr. Ross recently moved to Wells Fargo after spending 30 years at Merrill Lynch.

Mr. Ross was recently the subject of a customer complaint alleging unsuitable investment recommendations and excessive trading, per FINRA records.  BrokerCheck indicates that an arbitration related to this customer complaint is presently pending.

Excessive trading, also known as churning, in the industry can be disastrous for a portfolio.  When a broker trades an account excessively, large amounts of commissions and fees may be generated, if the account is commission based (as opposed to fee based).  Churning is a classic example of a broker putting his or her own monetary gain above the best interests of his or her customer.

Morgan Stanley broker Armando Fernandez has been suspended by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for 20 business days, according to publicly available FINRA records.  Per a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent filed with FINRA, Mr. Fernandez was accused of exercising discretion in a customer account without prior written acceptance of the account as discretionary from his member firm.  FINRA records indicate that Mr. Fernandez was also fined $7,500.

Generally, brokers are prohibited from placing trades in a customer account without speaking to the customer first, unless an account is a discretionary account.  When discretion is given by the customer to the broker, it is typically documented in a signed agreement.  When there is not such a signed agreement, and a broker executes transactions on a discretionary basis anyway, violations of FINRA Rules likely have taken place.

Customers who have been the victim of brokers improperly exercising discretion in their accounts (or violating other FINRA Rules) may be entitled to recover their losses in an action against the firm and/or broker responsible.

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