Coastal Equities Has Been The Subject of $3M in Investor Arbitration Claims Coastal Equities, a mid-sized broker-dealer, recently arrived at a settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in which it agreed to give $280K in restitution to several customers. The firm is accused of failing to reasonably supervise…
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Accuses Bank of Inadequate Internal Controls JPMorgan Chase Bank has been ordered to pay a $250M penalty. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) contends that the bank engaged in “unsafe and unsound practices” related to its internal controls and an…
Morgan Stanley Fires Financial Advisors After Inherited Account Credits Investigation Morgan Stanley (MS) announced recently that it has terminated a number of financial advisors after a months-long investigation into payments being made to retired Morgan Stanley financial advisors under Morgan Stanley’s own Legacy Account Payments Program. Morgan Stanley’s “sunset plan”…
Colorado Investment Firm Fined $200K For Investing Unqualified Buyers Into Unsuitable Investments The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered First Western Capital Management Co. to pay a $200K fine over allegations that, over a 7-year period, it invested over $666M of clients’ funds into securities that they didn’t…
Galvin’s Office Files Civil Lawsuit Alleging Overconcentration, Unsuitable Investments William Galvin, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, has filed civil charges against former NEXT Financial Group broker, Charles Chester Kulch. The state is accusing him of selling real estate investment trusts (REITs) and variable annuities (VA) to customers for…
Former Financial Representative Is Facing Criminal Trial for Annuity Fraud The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined Northwestern Mutual Investment Services $350K for failing to properly supervise former stockbroker, Sampson Pearson, which enabled him to defraud customers of $570K. Northwestern Mutual Investment Services is the brokerage arm of Northwestern…
FINRA Says SagePoint Financial Brokers Unsuitably Recommended Early UIT Rollovers The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is ordering SagePoint Financial to pay over $1.6M in fines and restitution after it executed over $895 million in unit investment trust (UIT) transactions that resulted in more than $17.2 million in sales charges. …
FINRA Accuses SunTrust Investment Services of Failing to Properly Supervise Brokers The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has ordered SunTrust to pay $634K to settle charges accusing the broker-dealer of not properly supervising 17 of its brokers when they recommended that customers hold non-traditional exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for long periods–a…
Broker-Dealer Allegedly Misled Novice Investor And Placed Funds In Risky Junk Bonds FMS Bonds, formerly called First Miami Securities, is the subject of yet another investor fraud lawsuit. This time it’s for misleading an inexperienced bond investor from the Dallas, Texas area and causing him to overconcentrate his portfolio with…
Brokerage Firm Made Unsuitable Investment Recommendations to An Inexperienced Investor Our brokerage firm fraud lawyers at Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm) have filed a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration against Morgan Stanley on behalf of an elderly Dallas, Texas investor. The investor in question sustained over…