Timothy Michael McGinn (CRD #813935, Registered Principal, Schenectady, New York) and David Lee Smith (CRD #427284, Registered Principal, Saratoga Springs, New York) were barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. The sanctions were based on findings that Smith misused investor funds when he sold approximately $89 million in income notes issued by […]

In an InvestmentNews.com article by Bruce Kelly, he writes that failed private placements issued by Medical Capital Holdings Inc. and Provident Royalties LLC have forced dozens of broker-dealers to close, be sold or seek bankruptcy protection. Failed real estate tenant-in-common syndicator DBSI Inc. is threatening to have the same result, with DeWaay Financial Network LLC […]

In a December 6, 2011, article from Bloomberg News, we learn that Bank of America Corp. (BAC) reached a $315 million settlement with class action plaintiffs who sued its Merrill Lynch unit over claims tied to mortgage-backed securities, according to a filing in Manhattan federal court. Merrill Lynch was sued starting in December, 2008, by asset- […]

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that it has fined Wells Investment Securities, Inc. $300,000 for using misleading marketing materials in the sale of Wells Timberland REIT, Inc., a non-traded Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).   It was noted that Wells was the dealer-manager and wholesaler for the public offering of Wells Timberland REIT, which […]

The brokerage, LPL Financial, LLC, was fined $100,000 November 22, 2011,  by the State of Oregon for failing to supervise a broker that sold high-risk oil and gas partnerships to clients, many of whom were elderly. According to the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, a former LPL representative, Jack Kleck, sold the oil and gas investments […]

In a November 25, 2011, article in InvestNews.com, Bruce Kelly writes that broker-dealers who sold billions of dollars in allegedly fraudulent private placements failed massively in their due-diligence responsibilities to investors, according to the assessment of forensic accountant and expert witness Gordon Yale, who has worked on more than 50 legal claims brought by investors against […]

In a November 28, 2011 article for InvestmentNews.com, Bruce Kelly writes that Next Financial Group, Inc. has agreed to pay $2 million in restitution to clients who bought oil and natural gas private placements of Provident Royalties LLC, which the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2009 accused of fraud. In a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. […]

In a November 23, 2011, article in FA Magazine, Karen DeMasters writes that LPL Financial has been fined $100,000 for failing to properly oversee one of its brokers in Oregon who sold risky investments to people, many of them elderly and without the mental capacity to make investment decisions. It was reported that the Oregon […]

An article appeared in the About.com Guide, written by Julie Garber regarding a Miami broker and elder abuse.  She wrote that recently a Miami news station reported on the elder abuse case of Josephine Troisi, age 93, and her sister, Mary Teris, age 95. A few years ago the sisters, who live together in Hollywood, Florida, hired […]