Variable Annuities

FINRA Goes After Two Brokers for Variable Annuity Replacement Fraud

Published on: October 18, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has suspended broker Cecil Ernest Nivens for two years for allegedly causing harm variable annuity (VA) investors who were his customers. According to the self-regulatory organization’s filing, Nivens failed to abide by his firm’s written supervisory procedures when he didn’t properly process certain variable universal life purchase transactions as replacement trades even though he was the one who recommended that each purchase be paid for from an existing variable annuity fund.

Nivens earned over $185K in commissions for the variable annuity life purchase transactions, in addition to commissions he was already paid for the variable annuities when they were sold to the same customers. Now, Nivens must disgorge those commissions.

FINRA accused Nivens of causing “considerable” harm to customers. In addition to the excessive commissions, eight of his customers paid over $4K in unnecessary surrender charges. His former firm has paid over $55K to settle VUL fraud customer complaints involving him.

Financial Representative Misconduct: Rep. Who Didn’t Disclose $100M in EB-5 Investment Sales is Barred From Securities Industry, Ex-Stifel, Nicolaus Broker is Suspended & Fined For Variable Annuity Violations, and Former Advisor is In Trouble Over Alleged Breaches Involving Senior Investors Accounts

Published on: June 7, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Former Stifel, Nicolaus Broker is Accused of Variable Annuity Violations
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has suspended an ex-Stifel, Nicolaus (SF) broker for four months over variable annuity transactions that he purportedly inappropriately recommended to certain investors. At the time of the alleged variable annuity fraud, James Keith Cox worked with Sterne, Agee & Leach. Stifel Financial later acquired that firm.

According to the regulator, Cox recommended a number of VA transactions even though there was no reasonable grounds for thinking they were appropriate for the investors. In addition to the suspension, Cox will disgorge the $25,460 he was paid in commissions.

FINRA Bars California Man From Industry Over $100M in Undisclosed EB-5 Investment Sales
A FINRA hearing panels has barred a California-based registered representative for taking part in private securities transactions involving $100M in EB-5 Investments that he failed to disclose to his employer financial firm. Jim Seol sold the EB-5 investments through his business Western Regional Center Incorporated.

Securities Cases: Verto Capital Settles Life Settlement Charges, Couple File Broker Fraud Claim Against NY Life Securities, JCPenny to Settle Texas Class Action Lawsuit for $97.M, & Cetera Admits to Charging Investors More For Mutual Funds

Published on: May 8, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Financial Firm and Its CEO Settle Life Settlement Fraud Charges
The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Verto Capital Management and its CEO William Schantz III have settled civil charges accusing them of running a Ponzi-like scam involving life settlements. As part of the settlement, Verto Capital and Schantz will pay over $4M.

According to the regulator’s complaint, the two of them raised about $12.5M through promissory note sales that were supposed to pay for the firm’s purchase and sale of life settlements. The notes were sold mostly through insurance brokers in Texas.

Investors who were religious were the main target of the alleged fraud.They were allegedly told that that the securities were short-term investments that were at low risk of defaulting.

Massachusetts Fines LPL Financial $1M For Advisers’ Alleged Misrepresentations, Failure to Disclose Commissions

Published on: May 6, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The office of Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin has fined LPL Financial (LPLA) $1M because the firm’s financial advisers allegedly made misrepresentations to consumers. According to the state regulator, the brokerage firm, which is based in Boston, failed to properly supervise its advisers located at Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) branches.

LPL financial advisers are allowed to work out of the DCU in return for part of the concessions. However, noted Galvin’s office, the problem was that LPL’s advisers conducted their business as DCU Financial, a reference that could have cause customers to think that they worked for the credit union.

The Massachusetts regulator said that an undercover sting operation was put into place, during which time one LPL adviser allegedly claimed to work for DCU and said that he was not paid commissions for offering investment advice, which was a false statement. Also, DCU paid these advisers bonuses in a sales contest that LPL never authorized.

FINRA Files Complaint Against Ex-Broker Over Variable Annuity Sales to Elderly Customers

Published on: April 26, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has put out a disciplinary complaint against Walter Marino. The former broker worked for Legend Equities Corp. in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida at the time he allegedly facilitated variable annuities sales that were unsuitable for two of his older clients. According to the regulator, Marino recommended exchanges of non-qualified VAs to the customers without having reasonable grounds to guide them toward these investments.

FINRA said that Marino earned about $60K in commissions. Meantime, the customers lost over $82K because of surrender charges they were forced to pay and they did not benefit financially. Not only that but because Marino didn’t apply the tax-free exchange provision of the Internal Revenue Code, the customers ended up with substantial tax liabilities.

Now, the regulator wants Marino to disgorge his ill-gotten gains and pay the customers full restitution for the variable annuity fraud.

Broker Fraud: FINRA Arbitration Panel Awards Investor $1M After Misleading Variable Annuities Sales Pitch, Broker-Dealer Owner Gets Prison Sentence in $100M Stock-Loan Scheme, & Fugitive Broker is Arrested After 20 Years On the Run

Published on: April 14, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Investor Awarded Over $1M After Allegedly Misleading Sales Pitch by Wilbank Securities Broker

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel has awarded investor Grace S. Huitt over $1 million in her broker fraud claim against Wilbanks Securities. According to Huitt, one of the firm’s brokers presented her with a sales pitch about the ING Landmark Variable Annuity that not only was misleading but also promised too much and then under-delivered. She alleged breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligent supervision.

Huitt claims that when she bought the variable annuity in 2008, she was told that it came with a guaranteed 7% compound yearly return. Other investors who also had made investment puchases through Wilbanks Securities reportedly claimed similar problems with what they were promised.

Elder Financial Fraud: Ex-K.C. Ward Financial Rep. Barred Over $15M in Unsuitable Investments

Published on: February 27, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

FINRA Bars Registered Rep For $15M In Unauthorized Trades

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred Craig David Dima, a former registered representative with KC Ward Financial, for making about $15M in unsuitable and unauthorized trades in the account of a 73-year-old retiree. According to the self-regulatory organization, there were 11 times when Dima sold nearly all of the customer’s stock in Colgate-Palmolive that she’d accrued from working with the company for nearly thirty years and he did that without permission.

After the elderly client told Dima not to sell the stock, he proceeded to sell them anyways. When the customer confronted Dima, he purportedly misrepresented that a computer or technical mistake had caused the sale. Meantime, the client was “deprived” of the “substantial dividends” from the Colgate shares she used to own. Dima charged the customer over $375K in fees, mark-downs, and mark-ups.

By settling, Dima is not denying or admitting to FINRA’s charges of elder financial fraud.

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Massachusetts Regulator Sues LPL Financial Over Broker’s Alleged Variable Annuity Abuses Involving Retirees

Published on: December 7, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Galvin has filed charges against LPL Financial (LPLA) for its alleged failure to supervise one of its brokers. Roger Zullo is accused of bilking clients for years by selling variable annuities to retirees even though the investments were not suitable for them.

In his complaint, Galvin contends that Zullo lied to supervisors and generated false client financial suitability profiles so he could sell scores of high-commission, illiquid VAs to make money for himself and the firm. Because of these investments, said the state regulator, many older clients were unable to access their funds for years.

The complaint notes that for three years, Zullo and LPL received over $1.8M in VA commissions from sales. The Polarius Platinum III (B Shares) VA appeared to be the source of a large chunk of the commissions. Galvin said that of the more than $1.8M in VA annuity commissions that Zullo was able to generate, over $1.7M of it came from this particular variable annuity, which paid a 7% commission. 90% of this went to Zullo, while his firm received the rest. Also, clients whom Zullo could convince to move to the Polaris Platinum variable annuity usually had to pay surrender charges.

Houston-Based Valic Financial Advisers Settles Variable Annuities Case Involving Alleged Conflicts for $1.75M

Published on: November 28, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is ordering VALIC Financial Advisors Inc. to pay a $1.75M fine for purported conflicts of interest that impacted the way that the firm compensated brokers for selling annuities.

According to the self-regulatory organization, from 10/2011 through 10/2014, the Houston-based financial firm established a conflict of interest when it said registered representatives would receive financial incentives for recommending that clients transfer their money from VALIC variable annuities into a Valic fixed index annuity or onto its fee-based platform.

FINRA said that the firm created even more conflict when it told representatives they would not get compensation from moving customer money to a non-Valic product from a Valic variable annuity.

FINRA said that because of these conflicts, a significant amount of assets were moved to the firm’s advisory platform and sales of VALIC ’s proprietary fixed index annuity increased by over 610% after it was included in the firm’s compensation policy.

Texas-Based Broker-Dealer Accused of Harming Elderly Massachusetts Investors Via High-Pressure Sales Tactics

Published on: November 15, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Secretary of State William Galvin is accusing Texas-based brokerage firm Investment Professionals of selling investment products to elderly customers even though the investments were not suitable for them. The San Antonio broker-dealer allegedly ran high-pressure sales contests at several partner community banks in the New England state between 2013 and 2016. Galvin said that the purported “sales gimmicks” were “unacceptable” and that his office would not tolerate them.

The Texas-based brokerage firm allegedly prioritized sales volume over whether or not the investments they were selling were suitable for the older customers. The customers had accounts at the local Massachusetts banks. For example, one bank customer, who was suffering from terminal cancer, saw so many of her assets placed in a variable annuity that she could not access her savings.

Galvin charged that these sales contests were not in alignment with Investment Professionals’ own procedures and policies and his office accused the firm of inadequate supervision, in particular of the Texas broker-dealer’s representatives who worked out of the Massachusetts banks. He noted that sales contests are “contrary to investor protections.”