The following information is from FINRA’s website under “Disciplinary and Other FINRA Actions, January, 2013.” John Boyd Dexter (CRD #1354376, Registered Principal, North Miami, Florida) was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Dexter consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission, also known as the 'SEC,' has filed 734 enforcement actions the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2012. That is one less than last year’s record of 735. The SEC’s report should remind investors that investment fraud is still a threat to investors. The SEC filed 147 enforcement actions in […]

Soeide Law Group is currently investigating broker, Bambi I. Holzer, CRD #1088028. Ms. Holzer is currently a registered representative with Newport Coast Securities of Beverly Hills, CA. There have allegedly been numerous (over 50) reports filed against her in her 25+ year career, and over $11 million in awards and settlements. Several of these complaints […]

FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority levied a total of $68 million in civil fines during 2012, according to statistics released by FINRA on Tuesday, January 8, 2013. This was slightly less than $71.9 million imposed by FINRA in 2011. The high-profile cases against large brokerages accounted for about one-third of total fines in 2012. […]

Massachusetts securities regulators sued LPL Financial, LLC, in December over sales practices of brokers regarding the REITs. Secretary of the Commonwealth, William Galvin, charged LPL Financial with a failure to supervise registered reps who sold the nontraded REITs in violation of both state limitations and the company's rules. The Securities Division also charged LPL Financial […]

Soreide Law Group is currently investigating the Wells Timberland REIT for the investors who suffered financial losses. FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, fined Wells Investment Securities $300,000 for improper sales materials when selling the Wells Timberland REIT, from May 2007 to September 2009. (Wells Investment Securities neither admitted nor denied the charges.) FINRA stated […]

The following article appeared in the "Tewksbury Advocate:" "Tewksbury scam victims win $155,250 settlement By Steve Adams GateHouse News Service Tewksbury — A Tewksbury couple who lost $255,000 to a Quincy financial adviser’s investment scam have won a $155,250 settlement. An arbitrator ruled last week that Harvest Financial LLC must repay a Tewksbury couple because […]

In an effort to protect investors over the sale of private placements, the new Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Rule 5123, was effective on December 3, 2012. Under the new FINRA Rule 5123, FINRA member firms that sell an issuer’s securities in a private placement will be required, subject to certain exemptions (which include private […]

Securities Lawyer, Lars Soreide, of Soreide Law Group, is currently investigating Gramercy Securities, Inc. This brokerage has been alleged to have placed unsophisticated investors' money into unsuitable investments. There have been claims, for example, of a recent widow losing her entire net worth by investing in risky private placements. Some of these risky private placements […]