Consumer Protection

Broker Billy Aycock in Cabin Securities, Inc. Firm Has Customer Complaint

February 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Billy Aycock (Aycock), currently associated with Cabin Securities, Inc., has at least 17 disclosable events. These events include 17 customer complaints, alleging that Aycock recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $100,000.00 on November 20, 2024.

Breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, breach of contract, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty and violations of ct and other securities laws.

Broker Timothy Nobles in Investment Planners, Inc. Firm Has Customer Complaint

February 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Timothy Nobles (Nobles), currently associated with Investment Planners, Inc., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Nobles recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint with a damage request of $35,000.00 on November 01, 2024.

The investment delivered an outcome that did not align with the claimants goals or understanding of the investment.

Broker Melanie Folstad in RBC Capital Markets, LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

February 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that Broker Melanie Folstad (Folstad) has been accused by investors of engaging in fraudulent misappropriation of their funds. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), it appears that Folstad was employed by RBC Capital Markets, LLC at the time of the activity. If you have been a victim of Folstad’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $33,927.71 on December 16, 2024.

Client contends that, in 2024, her financial advisor sold shares of apple inc. (AAPL) in her brokerage account without prior authorization.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Mark Martin in Firm Integrity Alliance, Llc.

February 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Mark Martin (Martin), currently associated with Integrity Alliance, Llc., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Martin recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $5,000.00 on November 26, 2024.

Insurance agent sold client [redacted] a fixed annuity with colorado banker life. Colorado bankers life became insolvent. Agent is named in civil litigation filed by the client in the state of pennsylvania

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker James Peterson in Firm Raymond James Financial Services, Inc.

February 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker James Peterson (Peterson), currently associated with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Peterson recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint on December 27, 2024.

Client alleged the advisor misappropriated funds and accepted forged documents to establish accounts. Allegation activity dates: 4/26/2010 – 12/24/24.

Broker Joseph Gibbons in Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated Firm Has Customer Complaint

February 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Joseph Gibbons (Gibbons), currently associated with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Gibbons recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint on November 13, 2024.

Customer alleges unsuitable investments from april 2011 to november 2024.

Broker Ronald Richer Barred By Securities Regulator

September 1, 2022 | by Staff Attorney

The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating BrokerCheck records reports that broker Ronald G. Richer (Richer), most recently associated with Garden State Securities, Inc. (Garden State Securities) has been subject to at least four customer complaints and three regulatory actions during the course of his career. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Richer’s customer complaints alleges that Richer recommended unsuitable investments in various investments among other allegations of misconduct relating to the handling of their accounts, including failure to supervise and unauthorized trading.

In July 2020, Richer was named a respondent in a FINRA arbitration complaint alleging that he borrowed $15,000 from a senior customer without providing prior notice to, and receiving written approval from, his member firm. This event led to his subsequent bar from the industry.

In December 2019, a customer complained that Richer violated the securities laws by alleging that Richer engaged in unauthorized trading. The damage amount requested was $21,000. The claim was denied.

In March 2018, a customer complained that Richer violated the securities laws by alleging that Richer engaged in unsuitable investment advice, and breach of fiduciary responsibility. The damage amount requested was $26,473. The claim settled in the amount of $16,300.

In June 2016, a customer complained that Richer violated the securities laws by alleging that Richer engaged in unauthorized trading, negligence, and failure to supervise. The damage amount requested was $150,000. The claim settled in the amount of $30,000.

Broker Steven Orr – A Case Study For Investor Complaint Expungement Abuse

October 21, 2019 | by Staff Attorney

Recently, Steven Orr’s (Orr) attorney reached out to our firm to inform us our posts on Orr was inaccurate. The post detailed that Orr had been subject to five customer complaints concerning allegations of securities law violations including unsuitable investments and misrepresentations among other claims. Many of the complaints involve direct participation products (DPPs) and private placements including oil and gas partnerships, non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), and other alternative investments.

Orr’s attorney has brought it to our attention that Orr has succeeded in using The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) flawed expungement process system to remove all five complaints from his BrokerCheck record. As shown in Orr’s expungement “award”, Orr sued his own employer, H. Beck, Inc. (H. Beck) for damages of $1.00 due to the placement on his record of five customer complaints. The “hearing” that took place appears to have been perfunctory at best. The hearing concerning five customer complaints took only one hearing session to complete. Usually there are two hearing sessions a day – meaning in this case five cases were probably decided in time for the arbitrator to catch lunch. The total cost to Mr. Orr by FINRA to expunge five customer complaints from his record was $100 – excluding any fees he privately paid his counsel.

During this less than four hour hearing to decide five cases, H. Beck did not contest the request for expungement. In FINRA expungement cases, brokerage firms like H. Beck profit from being sued by their own brokers to clean their records. Of the five investors that complained concerning Orr’s investment recommendations – four of which resulted in documented settlements and compensation for the victims – none of the investors participated in the short hearing. Only one investor submitted a letter to the arbitrator opposing expungement. In sum, there was no meaningful opposition to Orr’s expungement request.

Without any significant opposition, the arbitrator found that there was “credible evidence presented demonstrated that Claimant made suitable recommendations to each of the Customers, fully and accurately representing the recommended investments including, but not limited to, any associated risks.” Further, “public disclosure of the false and clearly erroneous allegations made by the Customers does not offer any public protection and has no regulatory value.” In other words, the arbitrator found that Orr was the subject of lies by five of his clients – all of which astonishingly appear to have told the same or similar lie concerning Orr’s investment advice. From the record, it appears the arbitrator made this determination without ever speaking to a single client.

Massachusetts Regulator Investigates Wells Fargo Over Unsuitable Investment Advice

May 30, 2019 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are following the investigation by the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office where the Secretary of the Commonwealth opened an investigation into Wells Fargo’s brokerage and advisory sales practices. Specifically, the state announced that the investigation seeks information related to inappropriate referrals of brokerage customers to managed and advisory accounts, unsuitable recommendations of alternative investments, as well as unsuitable referrals and recommendations in connection with 401(k) rollovers.

These three areas have been incredibly problematic in the securities industry in recent years. First, brokerage firms have been accused of referring clients from brokerage accounts into advisory accounts even though the client does not need the advisory account. The issue is that the fee structure in the advisory account is much greater and the client receives no additional investment service that the customer needs for the increased cost. The second issue concerns complex securities products often referred to as alternative investments. These investments can be problematic because they advisors are often paid high commissions in order to sell alternative investments that are rarely appropriate for investors. Finally, in recent years there have been issues with advisors recommending a 401(k) rollover into a brokerage account. The issue is that most 401(k) plans are very cost effective for investors and keep fees very low. By contrast, brokers want to amass client’s 401(k) assets where the firm and broker can charge much higher fees for services that the client does not need. Many times the client would have been better off not transferring their accounts to an advisor due to the higher cost and the potential for unsuitable investment advice.

Universal Life Policy Holders Face Unfair Premium Increases

February 20, 2019 | by Staff Attorney

According to newsources, tens of thousands of universal life policyholders have experienced double-digit premium increases from their life insurance companies such as AXA, Voya, and Transamerica. Unfortunately, more premium hikes may be coming. Universal Life is a permanent life insurance policy that combines term insurance like affordability with a savings element similar to whole life. Universal life insurance offers a cash value savings account that earns tax-exempt interest. The investment account accumulates cash based upon interest rates or a promised fixed rate appreciation plus premium payments.

Similarly, Variable Universal Life (VUL) policies allocates a portion of premium payments to a separate sub-account that can be used to grow in value through investments. These types of policies terminate or lapses, if at any time the net cash surrender value is insufficient to pay the monthly cost deductions. Upon termination of the policy, the remaining cash value becomes worthless.

Investor and policy holders are often given projections of premium payments over time that are stable allowing the holder to know what the cost and terms of the policies are. Now thousands of universal life policyholders have been informed that their insurers are using the fine print of their contracts to significantly increase what was supposed to be level premiums. These increases may be multiple times more than what the insured had bargained for.