Wells Fargo

Barred Ex-Wells Fargo Broker Jeremy Fortner is Named in Nine Customer Disputes

Published on: May 6, 2022 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Ex-Wells Fargo Broker Jeremy Fortner Allegedly Borrowed Money From Clients

Our broker misconduct lawyers investigate claims of losses involving former customers of ex-Wells Fargo Advisors registered representative Jeremy Fortner. The broker-dealer fired him in August 2021 in the wake of allegations that he inappropriately borrowed funds.

In November 2021, with a starting date of March 3, 2022, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) permanently barred Fortner after he did not respond to requests for information into its investigation. Jeremy Fortner was a registered broker and investment adviser for 16 years.

Former Wells Fargo Broker Mario Rivero Charged With $500K Investment Fraud

Published on: March 16, 2022 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Ex-Wells Fargo Clearing Services Advisor Allegedly Misappropriated Funds from Elderly Investors

Mario Everildo Rivero is charged with two counts of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud, and one count of investment advisor fraud. He was arrested on March 14, 2022. The ex-Wells Fargo Clearing Services broker is accused of stealing more than $500K from clients. All of them were older investors.

Prosecutors contend that from April 2018 to November 2020, when Rivero was working as a Wells Fargo financial advisor, he misappropriated at least $529K from four customers. This allegedly included:

Barred Wells Fargo Broker Scott Reed Accused of Selling Investments Without Firm’s Permission

Published on: January 25, 2022 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A former customer of Scott Reed, an ex-Wells Fargo Clearing Services broker, has filed a FINRA arbitration claim. The investor claims Reed made them invest more than $2M in unapproved investments. This resulted in the broker making hundreds of thousands of dollars in undisclosed commissions.

FINRA barred Scott Reed in February 2021 for allegedly taking part in $3.5M of private securities transactions. These transactions were made without notifying or getting the approval of his member firm first. This practice is known as selling away.

The self-regulatory organization (SRO) said that Reed solicited individuals to invest in securities from a software and development company. Not only did he facilitate these sales, but he also personally invested $200K in the company.

Two Wells Fargo Broker-Dealers to Pay $3.1M in FINRA’s UIT Investigation

Published on: December 20, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Supervisory Failures Allegedly Resulted in Unsuitable Trades and Rollovers

Wells Fargo Clearing Services and Wells Fargo Advisors have arrived at a settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

The two broker-dealers will pay $3.1M for purportedly not setting up and maintaining a supervisory system that complied with the self-regulatory organization’s (SRO’s) rules involving early unit investment trust (UIT) rollover trading. FINRA’s action is its final one in its targeted probe into the sale of UITs.

FINRA Bars Ex-Wells Fargo Broker James Seijas Who Is Accused In More Than $33M Ponzi Scam

Published on: November 4, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Former New Jersey Financial Advisor Allegedly Targeted Florida Doctors

James Alan Seijas, an ex-Wells Fargo Clearing Services broker, was barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) beginning November 2, 2021. The former New Jersey investment advisor did not provide information in the self-regulatory organization’s (SRO’s) investigation into his alleged involvement in an over $33M Ponzi scam.

Seijas, ex-UBS broker Michael Ackerman, and general surgeon Quan Tran are accused of running a cryptocurrency scam that targeted mostly Florida doctors through the entity Q3 Trading Club from 2017 to 2019. This would have been during Seijas’ time as a Wells Fargo registered representative.

SEC Accuses Fired Wells Fargo Broker Kenneth Welsh of Stealing Nearly $3M From Customers

Published on: November 1, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Senior Citizens Were Among Former Fairfield, NJ Financial Advisor’s Alleged Victims

Kenneth Andrews Welsh, an ex-Wells Fargo Clearing Services broker, is now facing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges accusing him of misappropriating at least $2.86 million from brokerage firm customers and advisory clients.

Allegedly the financial advisor used victims’ money (including senior citizens) to pay credit card bills and buy precious metals, including gold coins.

Inappropriate COVID-19 Loan Applications Led To FINRA Sanctions for Brokers From Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan Securities, and Merrill Lynch

Published on: August 9, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

COVID Relief Loans Involved Undisclosed Business Outside Their Brokerage Firms

According to InvestmentNews, ex-J.P. Morgan Securities broker Gloria Willis, former Merrill Lynch stockbroker Evelyn Batista, and ex-Wells Fargo financial advisor Kenric Sexton have either been barred or suspended from the securities industry.

These Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sanctions were imposed after the self-regulatory organization (SRO) found that all three of them either inappropriately or incorrectly applied for federal COVID-relief loan programs geared towards small businesses in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ex-Wells Fargo Broker Ramon Herrera is Sentenced For Defrauding 40 Investors

Published on: May 24, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

New Jersey Financial Advisor’s Victims Included Older Investors Who Spoke Spanish

Ramon Arturo Herrera, a former Wells Fargo (WFC) registered representative, is sentenced to 27 months in prison and three years of supervised release. The former New Jersey financial advisor pleaded guilty to wire fraud for bilking approximately 40 clients of $450K.

Herrera worked five years in the industry. The entire time, he was a Wells Fargo broker until 2018. That is the same year that Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) barred him from the industry. The following year, Herrera was expelled by the New Jersey Bureau of Securities.

Customers Blame Ex-Wells Fargo Broker Clearing Services Herbert Weith For Variable Annuity Losses

Published on: December 28, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

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 Naples, Florida, became a registered investment advisor for Equitable Advisors, LLC, in Columbia, Maryland from January to October of 2020.

Our Florida broker fraud attorneys have been looking into complaints by ex-Wells Fargo customers of Weith who suffered serious investment losses that may have been caused by unsuitable investment recommendations. Contact our attorneys at Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) today.

Texas Wells Fargo Broker Kurt Gunter Is Sanctioned Over Allegedly Unsuitable UIT Sales

Published on: December 4, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

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 addition to having to pay a $10K civil fine, Gunter is suspended for three months beginning December 20, 2020. The broker, who is also a registered Wells Fargo investment adviser, consented to the sanctions but is not denying or admitting to the findings.