The following information was obtained on FINRA’s website’s ‘Disciplinary Actions, January 2012.”   Joseph James Sciarra Jr. (CRD #1576322, Registered Principal, Wellington, Florida)   was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity and ordered to pay $393,935, plus interest, in restitution to a customer’s estate. The sanctions were based on findings that […]

In a February 4th., 2012, article by Andew Osterland in InvestmentNews.com, he writes that it's not an easy conversation to have, but financial advisers need to talk to their clients about Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia and the impact it can have on their financial circumstances. “The first conversation is difficult, but after […]

Raymond James Financial Services Inc., has paid a $1.79 million arbitration award to an 87-year-old client after going to state court to appeal the judgment writes Darla Mercado, in a November 30, 2011, article for the InvestmentNews.com. The Honorable Judge Emily Tobolowsky, of the 298th Judicial District Court in Dallas last month confirmed the award […]

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 […]

The following are excerpts from Richard G. Ketchum, Chairman and CEO of FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Research Center on the Prevention of Financial Fraud in Washington, DC, Thursday, November 3, 2011. "We bring together policymakers, researchers, practitioners, law enforcement and others to discuss how we can better share […]

It was announced that a federal court decision in Pennsylvania has given a win for life settlement investors, deflating carriers' argument that it is permissible for an insured person to apply for a life settlement with the express intent to sell it to a third party, writes Darla Mercado in an InvestmenNews.com article from October 12, 2011. […]

It was announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Wells notice to UBS regarding secondary market trading of closed-end funds sold in Puerto Rico in 2008 and 2009.  USB sold $2.9 billion in bonds in 2008. UBS was a former financial adviser to Puerto Rico's Employees Retirement System that provides pensions for […]