Reg BI

Morgan Stanley Broker Eric Kleiner Has Customer Complaint

January 24, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial advisor Eric Kleiner (Kleiner), currently associated with Morgan Stanley, has at least three disclosable events. These events include three customer complaints alleging that Kleiner recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a denied customer complaint with a damage request of $300,000 on July 13, 2023.

Client alleged recommendations to invest in Cannibas Securities were unsuitable for someone his age 2021.

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors, LLC Advisor Derek Su Has Customer Complaint

January 24, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial advisor Derek Su (Su), currently associated with U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors, LLC, has at least one disclosable events. These events include one customer complaints alleging that Su recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $2,200,000 on June 12, 2023.

Claimants had been clients of USCA since 2015. Su began handling their accounts in late 2020. Claimants allege Su failed to properly structure their accounts to meet their retirement goals. Specific allegations include negligence, gross negligence, failure to supervise, and breach of fiduciary duty.

Avantax Advisory Services Previous Advisor Monica Osborne Has Customer Complaint

January 24, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial advisor Monica Osborne (Osborne), currently associated with Avantax Advisory Services, has at least one disclosable events. These events include one customer complaints alleging that Osborne recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $200,000 on April 16, 2024.

Customer alleged the representative recommended an unsuitable investment.

Realta Equities, Inc. Broker Gilbert Conrad Has Customer Complaint

January 24, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial advisor Gilbert Conrad (Conrad), currently associated with Realta Equities, Inc., has at least six disclosable events. These events include six customer complaints alleging that Conrad recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $1,500,000 on May 21, 2024.

The claimant alleges unsuitable investments.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. Advisor Stephen Medina Has Customer Complaint

January 24, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial advisor Stephen Medina (Medina), currently associated with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., has at least six disclosable events. These events include six customer complaints alleging that Medina recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint with a damage request of $782,500 on September 27, 2023. The claim settled for $300,000.

Client alleges misrepresentations and unsuitable investments between February 2022 and December 2022.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Previous Broker Gustavo Miramontes Has Customer Complaint

January 24, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial advisor Gustavo Miramontes (Miramontes), currently associated with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., has at least fourteen disclosable events. These events include eleven customer complaints alleging that Miramontes recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $151,477 on September 27, 2023.

Claimant asserts claims for breach of fiduciary duty, churning, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, falsifying account documentation, unauthorized trading as well as violations of FINRA rules and state securities laws. 01/2019 – 06/2023

Centaurus Financial, Inc. / Nestyield ETFs Advisor Manuel Ramos Has Customer Complaint

January 24, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial advisor Manuel Ramos (Ramos), currently associated with Centaurus Financial, Inc. and Nestyield ETFs, has at least five disclosable events. These events include five customer complaints alleging that Ramos recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $100,000 on December 19, 2023.

The customer alleges that in November 2016, the Registered Representative recommended illiquid investments with declining values and high fees.

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors, LLC / USCA Securities LLC Advisor Patrick Mendenhall Has Customer Complaint

January 24, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial advisor Patrick Mendenhall (Mendenhall), currently associated with U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors, LLC and USCA Securities LLC, has at least four disclosable events. These events include four customer complaints alleging that Mendenhall recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $5,000,000 on January 12, 2024.

Client is a sophisticated investor with decades of experience recruiting for the financial services industry, experience investing in options, stocks, private placements, and hedge funds, and a thirty-year relationship with Mr. Mendenhall. In connection with the account in question, the client indicated a net worth of over $20 million, an aggressive risk tolerance, and a primary objective of capital appreciation. The Client complains of losses and missed opportunity related to a specific stock (and options on that stock) in a specific account. The stock was first purchased by the client over eight years ago. The Client maintained other accounts with the firm and overall had gains while at the firm. The client was actively involved in managing the stock and all transactions were discussed with the client.

Advisor Nicholas Stamatis Has Structured Product Complaint

December 27, 2024 | by Staff Attorney

The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating BrokerCheck records reports that financial advisor Nicholas Stamatis (Stamatis), currently employed by Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC (Ameriprise) has been subject to at least one customer complaint during the course of his career. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Stamatis’s most recent customer complaint alleges that Stamatis recommended unsuitable investments in structured products and makes allegations concerning misconduct relating to the handling of the customer’s accounts.

In April 2024 a customer complained that Stamatis violated the securities laws by alleging that Stamatis recommended unsuitable investments of variable annuities and structured notes. The claim alleges $80,000 in damages and is currently pending.

Structured products are a class of derivative products that derive their performance from market linked data. A structured product generally references a source against which market risk is taken. The source can be a single security, a basket of securities such as a market index, commodities, interest rates, or a real estate loan portfolio. The variety of products that can be structured demonstrates the difficulty in formulating a single unified definition of a structured product.

Victor Lessinger Suspended Over Reg BI Violation

December 2, 2024 | by Staff Attorney

Financial advisor Victor Lessinger (Lessinger), formerly employed by brokerage firm Colorado Financial Services Corporation (Colorado Financial) has been suspended by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). In addition, Lessinger has been subject to at least four other regulatory complaints and one customer complaint during the course of his career.

In October 2024 Lessinger consented to a FINRA finding to the sanctions that he willfully violated Exchange Act Rule 15l-1(a)(1) by recommending that a retail customer invest in three high-risk closed-end management investment companies that were not in the customer’s best interest based on her investment profile. According to the FINRA findings the customer, who is a senior, reported that her risk tolerance was moderate, and her investment objective was income. But FINRA found that Lessinger recommended that the customer invest up to 37 percent of her net worth in the high-risk closed-end funds and as a result the customer lost $5,029.85.

Brokers are required to adhere to the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) standard of care under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 which establishes a “best interest” standard for broker-dealers and associated persons. This standard applies when brokers make recommendations to retail customer for any securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities, including recommendations of types of accounts. Reg BI is drawn from fiduciary principles that include an obligation to act in the retail investor’s best interest and the broker is prohibited from placing their own interests ahead of the investor’s interest.