The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has suspended David Howard Fagenson, a former UBS Financial Services (UBS) broker, for eight months. Fagenson, now registered with Newbridge Securities, is accused of unsuitable trading in the accounts of three older clients. The allegedly excessive trades are said to have created significant losses…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is ordering H. Beck to pay a $400K fine. The self-regulatory authority (SRO) contends that the independent brokerage firm sold variable annuities (VA) to clients even though they were not suitable for some of them. According to FINRA, of the over 7,000 variable annuity…
Authorities in Texas have arrested Phillip Michael Carter for fraud. Carter, a North Texas real estate developer, is accused of raising $17.5M from investors in the state who thought their money was going toward development projects. His victims included older investors. The Texas State Securities Board announced his arrest. Carter’s…
Investment Adviser Accused of Lying to Retirement Fund Clients Pleads Guilty Richard G. Cody, an investment adviser who ran Boston Investment Partners and is accused of lying to clients about how he handled their retirement funds, has revised his not guilty plea. Cody is now pleading guilty to both making…
Jose G. Ramirez-Arone Jr. (also known as Jose G. Ramirez, Jr.), a former UBS Financial Services of Puerto Rico (UBS-PR) broker, has pleaded guilty to criminal charges accusing him of defrauding investors while making over $1 million in improper commissions through the sale of Puerto Rico closed-end funds. Ramirez-Arone is…
Already under scrutiny for suspending its sale of private placements, along with redemptions to investors, GPB Capital Holdings now has to explain why its accountant, Crowe LLP, has resigned as the alternative asset management firm’s auditor. GPB Capital had announced a few months ago that it was undergoing an accounting…
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel has awarded eight retirement investors $1,019,211 in a Texas real estate investment trust case involving three United Development Funding (UDF) REITs. United Development Funding is made up of private and publicly traded investment funds that use investor money to give loans to land…
The US government has filed a civil lawsuit against UBS AG and a number of its UBS-based affiliates accusing them of defrauding investors who purchased residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) from the firm in the two years prior to the 2008 economic crisis. UBS purportedly securitized over $41B of mortgage loans…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred three more former brokers in the wake of fraud allegations against them. Two of them were based in Texas. They are: Former Merrill Lynch broker Terrance Hood Ex-RBC Capital Markets broker Jonathan Freehill Former Signator Investors broker Dennis Ferwerda Ex-Merrill Lynch Broker Accused…
Douglas P. Simanski, a former Next Financial investment adviser and broker, has pleaded guilty to a $4.5M investor fraud for the criminal charges of wire fraud, securities fraud, and submitting false income tax returns. He is accused of bilking over 30 clients over a 14-year period. According to the US…