Former Kentucky-Based Merrill Lynch Broker Gets Eight Years in Prison Christopher Lee Hibbard, a former stockbroker for Merrill Lynch and Pierce, Fenner & Smith is sentenced to eight years in prison. The ex-Kentucky stockbroker pleaded guilty to investment fraud and multiple counts of wire fraud earlier this year. Hibbard, who…
Investor Lawyers Blog
Customers Blame Ex-Wells Fargo Broker Clearing Services Herbert Weith For Variable Annuity Losses
New FINRA Arbitration Claim Seeks $260K in Damages Former Wells Fargo Clearing Services (WRET) broker Herbert Lee Weith IV is named in yet another customer dispute in which the claimant is seeking damages for losses involving variable annuities. Weith, who was a Wells Fargo broker from 2012 to 2019 in…
Ex- NPB Financial Broker Cynthia Cowden Allegedly Recommended Investments That Were Too Risky For Senior Investors
FINRA Bars Californian Financial Advisor After Older Customers Suffer Huge Losses Cynthia Diane Cowden, a former NPB Financial Group stockbroker, has been barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Cowden, who also was a registered investment advisor, is based out of Lake Isabella, California where she operated under the…
RBC Capital Markets Broker Joseph Chu Accused of Overconcentrating Customers’ Accounts in Oil and Gas Investments
Connecticut Investment Advisor is Also Part of RBC Team Chu, Philipps, and Associates Joseph Ijong Chu, an RBC Capital Markets stockbroker, has been named in a number of customer disputes this year. Chu is also a registered investment advisor with the broker-dealer. He is part of the RBC team known…
Broker Tamber Proctor Accused of Unsuitably Recommending FS Energy & Power Fund and the Northstar REIT
Ex-LPL Broker Marketed Non-Traded Investments To Mississippi Retiree A retired investor has filed a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claim against LPL Financial and its former broker, Tamber King Proctor, seeking up to $100K in damages. The claimant contends that LPL Financial and Proctor should have never recommended that…
Texas Retiree Files GPB Capital Fraud Claim Against Calton & Associates
Senior Investor Seeks up to $500K in Damages For Loss of Savings A retiree from Texas has filed a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claim against brokerage firm Calton & Associates over losses he suffered in GPB Capital Holdings private placements and other non-publicly traded products. This investor is…
Municipalities’ Inability to Pay Bond Interest Places Investors in a Precarious Position
Seeking Greater Yield and Safety, Muni Bond Customers Encounter Defaults Despite the fact that the coronavirus has taken a toll on city and state finances, this isn’t stopping investors from buying municipal debt in a bid for greater yield and more safety than the markets can provide at this time.…
Spirit of America Energy Investors May Have Grounds for Unsuitability Claims Against David Lerner Associates
Proprietary, Non-Traded Oil, Gas and Energy Investments Plunged In Value If your David Lerner Associates broker recommended and sold you any of the firm’s proprietary non-traded oil and gas investments and you sustained significant losses, you may have grounds for an investor fraud claim for damages. The privately-held broker-dealer exclusively…
Coastal Equities To Pay $280K To Elderly and Retiree Clients Over Allegedly Unsuitable Trades
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…
Texas Wells Fargo Broker Kurt Gunter Is Sanctioned Over Allegedly Unsuitable UIT Sales
FINRA Suspends Texas Broker For Three Months Kurt Jason Gunter, a Wells Fargo Clearing Services (WRET) registered representative in Bee Cave, Texas, was recently sanctioned by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The self-regulatory organization (SRO) contends that he allegedly made unsuitable unit investment trust (UIT) sales to customers. In…