In an article for InvestmentNews.com, on February 1st, 2012, Mark Schoeff Jr. writes that in a market defined by low interest rates, investors are searching for higher returns. But brokers better be careful how they try to deliver those results, according to their primary regulator. In a 16 page letter posted on its website, the Financial Industry […]

The following information was found on FINRA's website's "Disciplinary Actions, January 2012."   Richard Paul Counts (CRD #3241105, Registered Representative, Belleair, Florida)   submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with ny FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Counts consented to the […]

The following information is excerpts from the article on the FINRA website.  The fact that a product is “complex” indicates that it presents an additional risk to retail investors because its complexity adds a further dimension to the investment decision process beyond the fundamentals of market forces. This may be the case even though the complexity […]

In a January 19th., 2012, article for InvestmentNews.com, Jeff Benjamin writes that when pressed, it seems financial intermediaries will tend to overstate their qualifications and services, according to Cerulli Associates Inc. “Most advisers don't want to say that they don't offer some kind of service, so they are more likely to overstate their capabilities,” said Scott […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)  filed a civil injunctive action charging Monticello, New York investment adviser, Lloyd V. Barriger, registered with Barriger & Barriger Incorporated, with fraud in connection with two upstate New York real estate funds he managed – the Gaffken & Barriger Fund, LLC (the G&B Fund or the Fund), and Campus […]

Former Ameriprise broker, Jason May (CRD# 4255401), in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach, Florida, has been barred for life by FINRA for failing to respond to FINRA requests for information after he was suspended for 60 days.   Our investigation has uncovered that Mr. May may have encouraged his clients to take out loans through a […]

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 […]

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 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 […]