Investor Lawyers Blog

SEC Accuses SPAC Stable Road Acquisition Company and Others of Misleading Investors

Published on: August 27, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Penalties of Over $8M Imposed on Stable Road Acquisition Company and Others

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed fraud charges against special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Stable Road Acquisition Company and its CEO Brian Kabot. The company’s sponsor SRC-NI, proposed merger target Momentus Inc., and the latter’s ex-CEO Mikhail Kokorich are also facing charges.

The regulator is accusing them of making misleading claims to investors about the target’s technology and national security risks involving Kokorich. While the Commission’s lawsuit against Kokorich will continue to move forward, the other parties reached settlements with the regulator. This included paying $8M in penalties.

SSEK Law Firm Wins $400K UBS YES FINRA Arbitration Award For Investors

Published on: August 26, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

$400K UBS YES FINRA Arbitration Awarded to Investors in Baltimore, Maryland

In one of the first in-person arbitration in the last 18 months, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has awarded two investors $405K in their UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy claim against UBS Financial (UBS).

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) represented these UBS YES strategy investors in their FINRA arbitration case, which was heard in Baltimore, Maryland.

Former LPL Financial Broker Kevin McCallum Facing Over $4.8M in FINRA Arbitration Claims

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

Glacier Point Advisors Managing Partner is Ordered to Pay Customers More Than $1.2M in Restitution

Kevin Marshall McCallum, a former LPL Financial stockbroker and the Managing Partner of Glacier Point Advisors has been suspended by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for a year.

McCallum is ordered to pay over $1.2M, along with interest, in deferred restitution to customers. He is currently facing more than $4.8M in FINRA arbitration claims from investors for their losses.

Chinese Retiree Pursues Up To $500K From Cetera Over PB Investment Holdings Losses

Published on: August 23, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Retiree Suffers Significant Losses in PB Investment Holdings on Recommendation of Cetera Financial Advisor

A Chinese national has filed a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claim over losses she suffered after a Cetera Investment Services advisor unsuitably recommended and sold a PB Investment Holdings annuity to her.

The Bermuda-based off-shore investment (affiliated with Northstar Bermuda) was touted as safe and low risk. That entity is in liquidation and has caused this claimant, who is a retiree, significant losses. She is now seeking six figures in damages from Cetera Financial.

Ex-SagePoint Financial Broker Grant Birkley Faces $2.3M of Investor Fraud Claims

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

Barred SagePoint Financial Broker Accused of Selling Away

Grant Christopher Birkley, an ex-SagePoint Financial stockbroker, is named in two pending customer disputes. He is accused of selling investment products that were not approved by his firm.

SagePoint Financial fired him last August after he admitted to making referrals to an external manager without the broker-dealer’s approval. In June, FINRA barred Birkley indefinitely after he declined to provide documents and information related to the self-regulatory authority’s probe into his termination by SagePoint.

Customers of Ex-Aegis Capital Broker Scott Hananel Claim Investment Losses

Published on: August 19, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Former Melville, NJ Financial Advisor Has Been Named in Six Disputes

If you have suffered investment losses while working with ex-Aegis Capital stockbroker Scott Neil Hananel, contact Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) so that we can help you explore your legal options.

Hananel, who is no longer a registered financial advisor, has been named in six customer disputes over the years. A few of them are still pending. BrokerCheck notes the disputes on Hananel’s record:

Customers of Vanderbilt Financial Broker Jeffrey Gitterman Seek Damages for Unsuitable Investments

Published on: August 16, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Vanderbilt Financial Advisor Accused of Using “Worst” Sales Tactics to Sell GPB Investments

If you suffered financial losses while working with Vanderbilt Financial registered representative Jeffrey Lewis Gitterman, you may have grounds for pursuing damages through Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration.

The Edison, New Jersey broker is currently named in two pending customer disputes. He also was accused in an InvestmentNews article of being one of the brokers to employ the “worst tactics” when selling GPB private placements to customers while he was a Triad Advisors financial advisor.

$500K Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) Claim Brought Against Truist Investment Services by Venezuelan Investors

Published on: August 12, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Claimants are Older South American Investors Who Suffered Six-Figure Loss

Two investors have filed a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claim against Truist Investment Services, Inc., which is the broker-dealer unit of SunTrust Investment Services. The claimants, who are related, are seeking up to $500K plus interest and costs after they suffered investment losses in Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda). A panel of arbitrators will hear their case in Boca Raton, Florida.

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) is representing these South American investors in fighting to recover their losses sustained after their Truist broker unsuitably recommended and sold Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) products to them. If you too suffered similar losses, contact us today.

Brokerage Firms With History of Misconduct Will Have To Put Money Aside for Investor Claims

Published on: August 11, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

SEC Approves New FINRA Rule That Will Designate Some Brokerage Firms as “Restricted”

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) rule 4111, which will require certain brokerage firm members with histories of broker misconduct to put aside reserve funds to pay for both future and unpaid investor claims, has now been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

These broker-dealers will be deemed “restricted” based on numeric thresholds to be determined by the self-regulatory organization (SRO) that involve six conditions including disclosure events involving the firm or its registered individuals, firings, and affiliated registered individuals from broker-dealers that already have been expelled.

Did GPB Capital Holdings Executives Improperly Use Investors’ Money To Fund Personal Spending?

Published on: August 10, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Federal Prosecutors Interviewed Alternative Asset Firm’s Former Auditor

Six months after the Justice Department filed criminal charges against ex-GPB Capital Holdings executives for operating an over $1.8B Ponzi scam that defrauded more than 17,000 investors, prosecutors have submitted a court filing disclosing that federal officials have interviewed Alan Materazo of Margolin Winer & Evens, an ex-auditor and accountant for the private placement firm.

Former GPB CEO and founder David Gentile, ex-managing partner Jeffrey Schneider, and Ascendant Capital owner Jeffrey Lash, who were charged with securities fraud, and conspiracy have also come under scrutiny for allegedly using investors’ money to pay for their own expenses. The interview of Materazo may have shed more light on whether this was, in fact, the case.