Evan Taber (CRD #1892751, Registered Representative, Plantation, Florida)   was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity.   This sanction was based on findings that Taber intentionally converted or misappropriated customer funds. These findings stated that Taber discussed with a customer an investment that would yield a 15 percent rate of return […]

Alan Stuart Pattee (CRD #3002976, Registered Representative, Lake Worth, Florida)   has submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Pattee consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that he forged homeowner […]

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 […]

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 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 […]

The following press release was from the State of Colorado regarding a settlement with E*Trade over the firm's auction rate securities issues. Colorado Securities Commissioner Announces Settlement of its Auction Rate Securities Enforcement Action against E*TRADE The Colorado Securities Commissioner Fred Joseph announced today that a settlement in principle has been reached between E*TRADE Securities, […]

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has ordered Wedbush Securities and one of its former brokers to pay $2.9 million in damages and fees to an elderly investor who allegedly fell victim to a faulty investment scheme. The founder Edward Wedbush, and broker Debbie Michelle Saleh were ordered to pay $2,865,885 in damages. The […]