Jesse Litvak, a former Jefferies & Co. managing director, has been charged with defrauding customers out of $2 million. A jury has been selected in federal court in New Haven, Connecticut. Litvak is charged with fraud in connection with a United States program using bailout funds to help spur investment in mortgage-backed securities. This is […]

On January 30th., 2014, Paul Elvidge, a 53-year-old securities broker from Port St. Lucie, Florida, pleaded guilty to federal charges of embezzling more than $1 million from client accounts, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Paul Elvidge operated Seacoast Investor Services, which was purchased by Cape Securities in Port St. Lucie. The $1.1 million embezzlement […]

PVCT TD Ameritrade lock out

Three New York brokers, Benjamin Chouchane, Marek Leszczynski, and Henry Condron, who all previously worked the cash desk at their Wall Street broker/dealer, had judgments entered against them on January 14, 2014, for overcharging clients $18.7 million. These brokers used hidden markups and markdowns, keeping secretly a portion of the profits from the trades. This […]

The following summation of information was found on FINRA's website under "Disciplinary and Other FINRA Actions, January, 2014." Thomas Paul O’Connor (CRD #5699014, Registered Representative, Boston, Massachusetts) was fined $10,000 and suspended by FINRA for 12 months. Allegedly O’Connor forged his client's signature on documents relating to buying insurance policies, a fixed life policy and […]

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, also known as FINRA, has issued a notice on their website which provides guidance to broker/dealers on the communications they have with their clients regarding unlisted real estate investment programs, including unlisted real estate investment trusts (REITs) and unlisted direct participation programs (DPPs) which invest in real estate. Recently, in […]

The following summation was obtained on the FINRA website. This information can be found under, "Disciplinary and Other FINRA Actions, January, 2014." Jose Jesus Martinez Jr. (CRD #5590432, Registered Representative, Glendale, Arizona) Martinez has been barred by FINRA. Allegedly when an elderly customer left his bank card on Marinez's desk, he kept the card and […]

The Soreide Law Group, (888) 760-6552, has obtained the following summation of information from FINRA’s website under “Disciplinary and Other FINRA Actions, January, 2014.” Ralph Joseph Mangini (CRD #1597490, Registered Representative, Yonkers, New York) was fined $10,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for two months. Mangini consented to the […]

According to a recent interview on CNBC, Peter Schiff, of Euro Pacific Capital states that, “If the Fed starts tapering the whole economy will tank.” (See: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101352642 for the full interview.) Is gold a suitable investment for all investors? There seems to be a consensus that a small portion of a portfolio should be in […]