FINRA Settlement Includes Restitution to More than 2,400 Customers In an agreement reached with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Transamerica Financial Advisors consented to pay $8.8M over the unsuitable sales of mutual funds, variable annuities (VAs) and 529 savings plans to customers. $4.4M of this is a fine and…
Broker-Dealer’s RIA Accused of Violating Fiduciary Duty The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Voya Financial Advisors have arrived at a $22.9M settlement, including $13.9M in restitution and interest to customers that were harmed. Voya Financial Advisors is an independent brokerage firm that is run as both a broker-dealer…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…