Stoltmann Law Offices, a Chicago-based investor rights and securities law firm, has been representing investors in cases against brokerage firms that sold the private placement limited partnership offerings in several GPB Funds, including:
Alexander L. Martin, a broker with CSSC Brokerage Services was recently hit with a $20,000 fine by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and suspended from the industry for 20 business days. According to a recent Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) with FINRA, Alexander Martin allegedly failed to reasonably supervise registered representatives selling two private offerings. One of the representatives lacked a reasonable basis for recommending the offerings to his customers, and caused two specific customers to over-concentrate their accounts in illiquid private offerings that were inconsistent with their investment objectives and tolerance. A broker must only recommend those investments that are suitable for his clients, based on their age, net worth, investment objectives and investment risk tolerance, among other things. If he does not, and the client loses money, the brokerage firm may be liable for losses on a contingency fee basis. Alexander Martin had a reasonable duty to oversee the brokers at CSSC, in order to make sure that they did not violate securities laws or internal firm rules.
Alexander Llyod Martin, according to his online, FINRA BrokerCheck report, was previously registered with FSC Securities Corp in Atlanta, Georgia from February 1998 until August 2001, Mutual Service Corp in Troy, Michigan from August 2001 until March 2007, and CSSC Brokerage Services in Troy from December 2006 until June 2016. He has one financial matter against him. He is not currently registered as a broker within the industry. CSSC Brokerage Services may be held liable for investment losses on a contingency fee basis in the FINRA arbitration forum.
According to Financial Planning online, former Cambridge Investment Research broker Ralph Savoie faces prison time for his role in a three-month scheme in which he allegedly used client money toward his rent, credit card bills and jewelry purchases. Mr. Savoie pleaded guilty to wire fraud and could possible forfeiture $1.05 million to clients. He promised investors that he could guarantee 11.4% return on their $50,000 investment, but never invested the money. Savoie, 70, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on March 26th in Baton Rouge, LA, in federal court. He was charged by authorities in December with two counts of wire fraud and one count of identity theft. He was fired by Cambridge in August 2015 and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority barred him from the industry in September of that same year.
According to online, FINRA records, Mr. Savoie was previously registered with The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S., Paul Revere Equity Sales, FSC Securities, The Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Company, Integrated Resources Equity Corp, Securian Financial Services, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, MetLife Securities, Park Avenue Securities, ING Financial Partners, and Cambridge Investment Research in Metairie, Louisiana from July 2013 until September 2015. He has six customer disputes against him, three of which are pending, and one regulatory matter. Savoie was accused of selling unsuitable, illiquid, expensive private placements in a scheme, breach of contract, violations of securities laws, violations of Louisiana securities law, common law fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, gross negligence, and committing fraud, among other things. These are all against securities laws and internal firm rules, and Cambridge can be liable for losses. The firm had a duty to supervise him while he was registered there. He has been barred from the industry, permanently.
FSC Securities Corp has reached a $5.7 million settlement with the Montana Securities Commissioner after a broker, Barry Hartman, allegedly recommended and sold investments in Invizeon. These activities were illegal and many investors were harmed by his misconduct. The company was listed as a software business that develops platforms to manage information from sensing and detection technology. Hartman allegedly peddled illegal investments in Invizeon, without the knowledge of FSC, leaving his clients unable to access their investment proceeds. Hartman was a beneficial owner and director of Invizeon at the time. The company closed in 2015, and investors lost their entire investment as a result. Twelve clients of Hartman’s had purchased the investment, many of them in the Missoula, Montana area. 26 clients were said to have held bad investments based on their financial objectives, age and needs.
This tactic is sometimes referred to as “selling away,” and is when a broker sells an investment that is not offered or held by his investment firm. He does this so he can keep the commissions for himself, and not have to share them with his member firm. It is against securities laws and internal firm rules. For this, FSC will pay more than $1.3 million in restitution, including $1.1 million in principal and more than $230,000 in interest. The company will offer more than $1.4 million in rescission, including almost $1.2 million in principal and $130,000 in interest.
According to Mr. Hartman’s BrokerCheck report with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Barry Hartman was previously registered with The Prudential Insurance Company of America in Newark, New Jersey from June 1985 until December 1993, Pruco Securities Corp in Newark from June 1985 until November 2000, Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida from October 2000 until February 2002, and FSC Securities Corp in Missoula, Montana from February 2002 until March 2015. He has 21 customer disputes against him, four of which are pending, and one criminal disposition. He has been permanently barred from the industry.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) records indicate that Kenneth Savino, a former LPL broker, was suspended from the industry for 15 days and fined $5,000. He allegedly purchased shares of a security for $100,000 without providing prior notice to his member firm and inaccurately indicated on an annual compliance questionnaire that he had not participated in any private securities transactions. He was discharged from LPL in October 2015 for allegedly entering into a loan transaction with another company, receiving shares of the company in return, with no pre-approval by the firm. He also allegedly made private securities transactions that he did not have pre-approved by the firm and introduced a client to a potential outside investment opportunity that was not approved by the firm. These are all against securities laws and internal firm rules. Selling away refers to when a financial advisor solicits investments in promissory notes or companies that are not pre-approved by his member firm. He does this in order to not have to share the commissions he earns from the sale with his member firm. The firm can be held liable for losses in this case.
According to FINRA records, Mr. Savino was previously registered with Manequity Inc. from May 1983 until December 1988, Lincoln Financial Securities Corp in Windsor Locks, Connecticut from December 1988 until July 2010 and LPL Financial in West Hartford, Connecticut from July 2010 until November 2015. He is currently registered with FSC Securities in East Hartford, Connecticut, and has been since December 2015.
Stoltmann Law Offices is investigating Jeffrey Delone, a former registered representative with FSC Securities Corporation. According to his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC), Mr. Delone allegedly participated in private securities transactions without notifying or obtaining approval from FSC, which is in violation of FINRA rules and securities laws. A private securities transaction is defined as “any securities transaction outside the regular course or scope of an associated person’s employment with a member.” For this, he was fined $10,000 and suspended for six months. According to his online FINRA public BrokerCheck report, Jeffrey Delone was previously registered with Cigna Securities in Radnor, Pennsylvania from February 1988 until March 1992, Mony Securities Corp in New York, New York from March 1992 until March 2005, Park Avenue Securities in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania from April 2005 until June 2007 and FSC Securities in Malvern, Pennsylvania from May 2007 until February 2017. He has one criminal final disposition against him. He is currently not registered within the industry.
If you or someone you know has suffered losses with Mr. Delone, you may be entitled to recover your losses in the FINRA arbitration forum on a contingency fee basis. Please call our Chicago-based law firm today at 312-332-4200 to speak to one of our attorneys for free. There is no obligation with the call. We only make money if you recover yours. There is a statute of limitations on most cases, so please call as soon as possible.
You may be able to bring a claim against FSC Securities for Brian Presley alternative investment recommendations. We are Chicago-based securities attorneys who represent investors who have lost money because of brokers like Brian Presley. A broker such as Presley has an obligation to only recommend a security that is suitable for his client. If he does not, his firm may be responsible for losses. Please call 312-332-4200 today to find out how to sue FSC Securities on a contingency fee basis. The call to us is free with no obligation. Mr. Presley was accused of allegedly breaching his duties to clients in illiquid investments including oil and gas and non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other alternative investments. These investments come with high costs and have historically underperformed even safe benchmarks, like U.S. Treasury bonds. These investments can be illiquid and high-risk. Your broker must take into account factors such as your age, net worth and investment objectives before recommending these investments. Otherwise, his firm may be liable for losses.
Brian Presley was registered with Cooper Street Securities from January 1983 until January 1987, and Advantage Capital Corp in Punta Gorda, Florida from January 1987 until February 2009. He is currently registered with FSC Securities in Punta Gorda, Florida and has been since February 2009. He has eight customer disputes against him, some of which alleged misrepresentation, negligence, sale of unsuitable securities and breach of various duties in sale of investments.
According to a recent Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Richard Gholson was accused of not properly supervising the sale of unit investment trusts (UITs) by a registered representative at CUSO Financial Services. At the time, Gholson was a principal at the firm and was responsible for reviewing and approving securities transactions for certain registered representatives. Gholson allegedly reviewed and approved the broker’s recommendation and sale of 70 UITs that invested in closed-end bond funds to 45 CUSO customers, some of whom were elderly. For this, Gholson was fined $5,000 and suspended for 30 days. UITs can be risky and illiquid investments that are not suitable for all investors, especially the elderly. A broker and his firm have a duty to only recommend and sell investments that are suitable for investors. If they do not, the brokerage firm can be held liable for investment losses.
Gholson was registered with Foster & Marshall, Sutro & Co., E.F. Hutton & Company, ISFA Corp, Wedbush, PAMCO, First Certified Corp., GAF Financial and Insurance Services, San Diego Securities Inc., Private Ledger Financial Services, Robert Thomas Securities, Marketing One Securities, Primevest Financial Services, Granite Investment Services, Sentra Securities, FSC Securities, Financial Network Investment Corp, Merrill Lynch, XCU Capital, Edward Jones, Crowell, Weedon & Co., Sorrento Pacific Financial and CUSO Financial Services in Pahoa, Hawaii from May 2007 until November 2016. He is not currently registered with any member firm.
Please call our Chicago-based securities law offices if you suffered losses with Richard Gholson. His former firm, CUSO Financial Services, can be held liable for investment losses in the FINRA arbitration forum. We take cases on a contingency fee basis only, so we only make money if you recover yours. The call is free with no obligation, so please call today. 312-332-4200
Stoltmann Law Offices is investigating Leonard Fox, a former broker with FSC Securities in Marlton, New Jersey. Fox was recently barred from the industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) after it was alleged that he had borrowed and misappropriated funds from a firm customer. Fox allegedly borrowed $10,000 in funds from another customer on a separate occasion and was suspended for 10 days. The providing of loans or selling of notes and other investments outside of a brokerage firm constitutes impermissible private securities transactions, commonly known as “selling away.” Fox disclosed one of his private securities transactions as being with Fox Wealth Management Group. Selling away is when a broker sells or offers a securities transaction that is not offered or sold by his brokerage firm.
According to his online FINRA BrokerCheck report, Leonard Fox was registered with First Jersey Securities , Merrill Lynch, Janney Montgomery Scott, Morgan Stanley and FSC Securities in Marlton, New Jersey from April 2013 until August 2016. He has four customer disputes against him, one of which is currently pending. He is not licensed within the industry and FINRA has permanently barred him from associating with firms that sell securities to the public. Please call us at 312-332-4200 today to speak to an attorney about your options of bringing legal action against Fox’s former firm, FSC Securities. We may be able to help you recover your financial losses.
Securities Fraud Attorneys Blog
