In a September 29, 2011 article in the InvestmentNews.com, Andrew Osterland writes that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against unregistered Long Island investment adviser Corey Ribotsky for allegedly lying about the performance of his investment strategies and stealing more than $1 million from one of the hedge funds he managed. According to the […]

Soreide Law Group, PLLC, has filed ten FINRA arbitrations against Rockwell Global Capital, LLC, for their involvement in the sale of the Simply Fit Beverage Company's private placement. Rockwell Global Capital acted as the placement agent for the $3,000,000 offering of Simply Fit. Simply Fit was a beverage company located in Pompano Beach, Florida. Most all […]

WASHINGTON —On FINRA's website, it was announced that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined Northern Trust Securities $600,000 for deficiencies in supervising sales of collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and failure to have adequate systems in place to monitor certain high-volume securities trades. The article said that FINRA found from October 2006 through October 2009, Northern […]

WASHINGTON — It was announced on FINRA's website that The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined Southwest Securities, Inc., of Dallas, $650,000 for deficiencies in due diligence, risk assessment and written supervisory procedures that permitted one of its correspondent firms, Cutler Securities, to create risk for Southwest through improper short sales. FINRA also required Southwest […]

WASHINGTON — In an article posted on FINRA's website it was announced that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined Santander Securities of Puerto Rico $2 million for deficiencies in its structured product business, including unsuitable sales of reverse convertible securities to retail customers, inadequate supervision of sales of structured products, inadequate supervision of accounts […]

NEW YORK - In an article from FoxBusiness.com, Brett Philbin writes that  E*Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC)  received a Wells notice from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority related to the purchase of auction-rate securities by customers of one of its subsidiaries, according to a regulatory filing.  A Wells notice indicates that regulators are recommending enforcement action and […]

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 […]

Soreide Law Group, PLLC, was notified by FINRA today that the clients they represented against Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC (“MSSB”)  were awarded 100% of compensatory damages, in addition to expert fees, pre-judgment interest, and costs.   In a published FINRA award, case number 10-02604, Attorney Lars Soreide, recovered for his clients, who were the heirs and trustees to […]

Darla Mercado of InvestmentNews.com, recently wrote that Finra's variable annuity (VA) suitability rule should be old news to broker-dealers, but firms that want to avoid an arbitration land mine ought to review their procedures. Mercado writes this warning came directly from Andrew A. Favret, associate vice president and regional chief counsel at the Financial Industry Regulatory […]