Ohio Tag Archives — Securities Fraud Attorneys Blog

Investigation: Ellen Vratoric and Huntington Investment Company

October 9, 2017 | by Andrew Stoltmann

Did you or someone you know lose money with Ellen Vratoric, a former registered broker with Huntington Investment Company? If so, the attorneys at Stoltmann Law Offices are interested in hearing from you. Ms. Vratoric has failed to respond to an investigation against her by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). She was terminated from Huntington in March 2016 after allegations surfaced that she had an increase in customer complaints, that she had signed but undated variable annuity forms, and that the document had been whited-out and re-used. These are all against securities laws and internal firm rules and regulations. A brokerage firm such as Huntington has a duty to reasonably supervise its registered brokers, and, if it does not, can be held liable for investment losses. This can be done in the FINRA arbitration forum on a contingency fee basis.

According to her online, public record with FINRA, Ms. Vratoric was previously registered with Spectrum Securities Corp in Mayfield Heights, Ohio from October 1993 until April 1997, Independent Financial Securities from May 1997 until August 1998, Liberty Securities Corp in Purchase, New York from August 1998 until January 1999, Natcity Insurance Services in Cleveland, Ohio from January 1999 until December 2001, LPL Financial in Monroeville, Pennsylvania from April 2007 until March 2008 and The Huntington Investment Company in Glassport, Pennsylvania from March 2008 until March 2016. She has one customer dispute against her alleging that she transferred $43,000 into a variable annuity without the client’s permission, did not disclose that it could lose value, did not inform the client about the need to take a required minimum distribution from the annuity, and did not disclose that selling back CDs before maturity would result in penalties. She is not currently registered as a broker.

Richard Schloss of Wells Fargo Allegedly Placed Customers in an Unsuitable Investment

October 7, 2017 | by Andrew Stoltmann

If you or someone you know lost money with Richard Schloss, you may be able to recover those losses on a contingency fee basis. Mr. Schloss was accused of placing a customer in an unsuitable investments, recommending unsuitable investments, and placing a customer in a high-risk bond which resulted in a loss of 60% of the original investment. These are all against securities laws. Schloss was previously registered with Painewebber Inc. in Weehawken, New Jersey from August 1986 until February 1998 and is currently registered with Wells Fargo in Canton, Ohio and has been since February 1998. He has three customer disputes against him, one of which is currently pending. This is according to his online FINRA BrokerCheck report.

Richard Graham; Huntington Investment Company; Lafayette, Indiana

September 20, 2016 | by Andrew Stoltmann

According to a recent Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Richard Graham was accused of making unsuitable investment recommendations regarding the sale of unit investment trusts (UITs) while employed at Huntingont Investment Company. A UIT is a type of investment that represents undivided interests in a relatively fixed portfolio of securities. Many times these consist of common stock of closed-end investment companies (known as closed-end funds). UITs typically are risky and illiquid investments, not suitable for all investors. Many times they are junk bonds and these are subject to very high risk. A broker must take into account a customer’s net worth, investment objectives and age before recommending investments. If he does not, his investment firm can be liable for financial losses because of failure to supervise him.

In Graham’s case, according to his AWC, allegedly, he recommended to a customer couple who did not speak English, that they make two purchases of the Van Kampen Unit Investment Trust Closed End Strategy Master Municipal Income Portfolio Series 30 in November of 2012. The couple invested $149,994.48, and, a month later, $199,993.99. Graham was aware that the couple’s risk tolerance was “conservative” and that they had a “short” investment time horizon. They also had limited investment knowledge and sophistication. In all, the customers lost $79,297.70. On a separate occasion, Graham recommended that a 98-year-old customer invest approximately 42% of her net worth in UITs. This was highly unsuitable for a customer of her age, and she lost money in the transactions. For these transgressions, Graham was fined $10,000 and suspended from the industry for two months.

Richard Graham was registered with Woodbury Financial Services in Oakdale, Minnesota from July 2001 until October 2003, Natcity Investments in Cleveland, Ohio from October 2003 until June 2005, The Huntington Investment Company in Lafayette, Indiana from July 2005 until July 2013 and JP Morgan Securities in Indianapolis, Indiana from July 2013 until August 2016. He has seven customer disputes against him and he is not licensed within the industry, according to his online FINRA BrokerCheck report. Please call 312-332-4200 to speak to one of our attorneys today if you lost money with Richard Graham. We may be able to help you sue Huntington in the FINRA arbitration process on a contingency fee basis to recover your losses. The call is free.

Jon Schmidhammer: Update For His Clients and How To Sue Stifel Nicolaus To Recover Stolen Funds

August 2, 2016 | by Andrew Stoltmann

Stoltmann Law Offices is investigating Jon Schmidhammer, a registered broker with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company in Dublin, Ohio. Schmidhammer was arrested yesterday in Upper Arlington, Ohio, after confessing to stealing more than $500,000 from one of his elderly clients. Upper Arlington, Ohio police revealed that PNC Bank officials met with the 81-year-old client after there was suspicious bank activity in her account and checks written from it. The woman revealed that she did not consent to money being taken out of her account. Schmidhammer was accused of the theft, and confessed to the crime after being confronted by police. He told authorities and bank officials that he transferred the $500,000 in question from another financial institution to a PNC bank and then withdrew it for himself. He has since been charged with theft.

Previously, in 2004, Schmidhammer was the subject of a regulatory action and was sanctioned $10,000 for inappropriately extending credit to a customer to satisfy margin requirements and for misleading his firm, Salomon Smith Barney, in an attempt to avoid detection. In 2001, there was a separate dispute against him, while he was employed with Salomon Smith Barney.

According to Jon Schmidhammer’s Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) online, public BrokerCheck report, he was previously registered with Security First Financial from September 1986 until August 1987, Advest Inc. in Hartford, Connecticut from October 1987 until July 1992, Lehman Brothers in New York, New York from June 1992 until July 1993, Salomon Smith Barney in New York from July 1993 until August 2002, UBS in Weehawken, New Jersey from August 2002 until November 2004, Advest in Hartford from November 2004 until March 2006 and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. in Upper Arlington, Ohio from March 2006 until May 2009. As of today, he is still listed as being registered with Stifel, Nicolaus in Dublin, Ohio since May 2009.

Update: Nathan Bartow; Fifth Third Securities

July 21, 2016 | by Andrew Stoltmann

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Nathan Bartow was barred from the securities industry. Fifth Third Securities terminated him on April 25, 2016, for failing to provide complete information over outside business activities. A customer complaint was filed, alleging that Bartow negligently managed and converted $500,000 of his investment assets. This is against securities rules and regulations. According to his online FINRA BrokerCheck report, Bartow was registered with Charter One Securities in Cleveland, Ohio from December 2004 until December 2005, CCO Investment Services in Canton, Ohio from December 2005 until March 2013 and Fifth Third Securities in Barberton, Ohio from March 2013 until April 2016. He has six customer disputes against him, one of which is currently pending. He is not licensed within the industry and FINRA permanently barred him from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public. Please call our Chicago-based law offices today to speak to an attorney about your options of suing Fifth Third Securities for Nathan Bartow losses. The firm may be responsible for your investment losses because they failed to reasonably supervise Bartow while he was employed there. Please call today as time is of the essence.

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Ohio Broker Suspended for Concealing Pot Business

July 7, 2016 | by Andrew Stoltmann

Former Royal Alliance Associates broker Darrin Farrow was suspended from the industry for one year and fined $25,000 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for setting up a marijuana-growing business and asking his customers to invest in it without his firm’s approval. Farrow opened a pot business called MAD Farmaceuticals in Rocky River, Ohio in 2012 and in early 2015, raised around $1 million from six clients who bought membership interests in an affiliate called MAD Oregon. He was suspended by FINRA because he did not disclose his outside business activity, which is against securities rules and regulations. Farrow was permitted to resign from Royal Alliance in May 2015. Ohio’s state securities division then suspended him in July 2015 for 45 days. At that time, he was working with Triad Advisors, but left the firm last month.

Farrow was registered with The Equitable Life Assurance Society, Equico Securities, Vestax Securities, Linso/Private Ledger, Waterstone Financial Group, Triad Advisors in Westlake, Ohio from August 2009 until February 2010, Royal Alliance Associates in Rocky River, Ohio from February 2010 until June 2015 and Triad in Rocky River from June 2015 until May 2016. He has one customer dispute against him. He is not licensed within the industry.

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Royal Alliance Broker Darrin B. Farrow of Rocky River, Ohio Entered Into FINRA (AWC)

June 24, 2016 | by Andrew Stoltmann

Stoltmann Law Offices is investigating Darrin B. Farrow, who recently entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Allegedly, between 2012 and 2015, while registered with Royal Alliance, Farrow participated in two undisclosed outside business activities. He also participated in six undisclosed private securities transactions with firm customers involving the sale of $1 million of membership interests in one of his outside business activities. Farrow founded MAD Farmaceuticals (MAD Farma) in June 2012. In February 2015, Farrow formed MAD Oregon LLC as a Delaware limited-liability company. It grows cannabis and supplies it to dispensaries throughout Oregon. In early 2015, he solicited six Royal Alliance customers to invest in MAD Oregon. These six investors paid a total of $1 million to purchase membership interests in MAD Oregon. These six paid a total of $1 million to purchase membership interests in MAD Oregon. This is against securities rules and regulations. For this he was suspended for 12 months and fined $25,000.

Farrow was registered with The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, Equico Securities, Vestax Securities Corp, Linsco/Private Ledger Corp, Waterstone Financial Group, Triad Advisors, Royal Alliance Associates and Triad Advisors in Rocky River, Ohio from June 2015 until May 2016. He has one customer dispute against him. He is not licensed within the industry, according to his FINRA BrokerCheck report. Please call our law firm at 312-332-4200 to speak to an attorney about your options of recovering money you may have lost with Farrow. The call is free.

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Lawsuit Claims Against Former WRP Investments Broker John P. Corsi

April 18, 2016 | by Andrew Stoltmann

Stoltmann Law Offices is investigating former WRP broker, John P. Corsi of Parma, Ohio. In a complaint filed in Cuyahoga county court, investors claim that Corsi sold them $750,000 in promissory notes issued by a debt-collection firm named Argent of Nevada, Inc. Allegedly, at least 15 other WRP clients were also sold these notes between 2009 and 2013. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is investigating the claims, and Corsi was terminated by WRP Investments for cause in December 2015. According to his FINRA BrokerCheck report, Corsi was registered with WRP Investments in Parma, Ohio from January 2005 until September 2014, when WRP was purchased by Sterne Agee Financial Services, where he maintained his affiliation until he was fired for cause in December 2015. He has one customer dispute against him, which is currently pending. He is not licensed within the industry. If you made investments with Corsi, you may be able to recover them in the FINRA arbitration forum by suing his former firm, WRP Investments. Please call our Chicago-based law firm today for a free consultation.

Selling Away Issues with Gerald “Jerry” Tagge and Cetera Advisors?

March 24, 2016 | by Andrew Stoltmann

Do you have complaints against Gerald “Jerry” Tagge, a broker registered with Cetera Advisors out of Omaha, Nebraska? Tagge allegedly sold $125,000 in promissory notes, which constitutes as “selling away,” and is against securities rules and regulations. Selling away is a tactic used by brokers to generate large commissions and fees for themselves, and they do this by offering investments that are not sold or offered by their member firm. Firms such as Cetera Advisors can be sued for failing to supervise their brokers and allowing them to sell away. We sue firms such as Cetera in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration process on a contingency fee basis to help clients recover their losses. The call to us is free. 312-332-4200. Please call us for a consultation to see if you may be able to bring a claim against Cetera Advisors.

Tagge was registered with NYLife Securities in New York, New York from August 1991 until December 1993, The O.N. Equity Sales Company in Cincinnati, Ohio from January 1994 until May 1995, Royal Alliance Associates in New York from May 1995 until January 1998, Vestax Securities Corp in Hudson, Ohio from January 1998 until June 2001, and Royal Alliance Associates in Omaha, Nebraska from June 2001 until August 2006. He is currently associated with Cetera Advisors in Omaha, Nebraska and has been since August 2006. He has three customer disputes against him, one of which is currently pending.

Selling Away Issues with Gerald “Jerry” Tagge and Cetera Advisors?

March 22, 2016 | by Andrew Stoltmann

Do you have complaints against Gerald “Jerry” Tagge, a broker registered with Cetera Advisors out of Omaha, Nebraska? Tagge allegedly sold $125,000 in promissory notes, which constitutes as “selling away,” and is against securities rules and regulations. Selling away is a tactic used by brokers to generate large commissions and fees for themselves, and they do this by offering investments that are not sold or offered by their member firm. Firms such as Cetera Advisors can be sued for failing to supervise their brokers and allowing them to sell away. We sue firms such as Cetera in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration process on a contingency fee basis to help clients recover their losses. The call to us is free. 312-332-4200. Please call us for a consultation to see if you may be able to bring a claim against Cetera Advisors.

Tagge was registered with NYLife Securities in New York, New York from August 1991 until December 1993, The O.N. Equity Sales Company in Cincinnati, Ohio from January 1994 until May 1995, Royal Alliance Associates in New York from May 1995 until January 1998, Vestax Securities Corp in Hudson, Ohio from January 1998 until June 2001, and Royal Alliance Associates in Omaha, Nebraska from June 2001 until August 2006. He is currently associated with Cetera Advisors in Omaha, Nebraska and has been since August 2006. He has three customer disputes against him, one of which is currently pending.