Securities Lawyers Blog

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker John Rodriguez in Firm Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC

December 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker John Rodriguez (Rodriguez), currently associated with Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Rodriguez 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 $5,000.00 on March 08, 2022.

Clients alleged they were not made aware of tax implications incurred due to the advisor’s sell recommendations made in September 2021.

Broker Michael Higgins in Morgan Stanley Firm Has Customer Complaint

December 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

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

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint on March 08, 2022.

Claimant alleged, inter alia, failure to supervise with respect to Financial Advisor’s management of accounts – 2016 to 2020.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Joseph Depaula in Firm UBS Financial Services INC.

December 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Joseph Depaula (Depaula), currently associated with UBS Financial Services INC., has at least 2 disclosable events. These events include 2 customer complaints, alleging that Depaula recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint on March 03, 2022.

Time Frame: December 01, 2021 – March 03, 2022\, \, What were the allegations against the individual? \, The client alleges her Financial Advisor failed to enter trades as instructed.. The alleged damages are estimated to be in excess of $5,000.00.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker James Gilmore in Firm Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated

December 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

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

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint on March 08, 2022.

The customer alleges that the Financial Advisor was not acting in his best interest regarding the fee structure of the account.

Broker Patrick Chitwood in Osaic Wealth, INC. Firm Has Customer Complaint

December 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Patrick Chitwood (Chitwood), previously associated with Osaic Wealth, INC., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Chitwood 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 $1,000,000.00 on March 02, 2022.

Claimant alleges negligence, overconcentration, and unsuitable recommendations with regard to alternative investments.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Jerry Brierly in Firm Royal Alliance Associates, INC.

December 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Jerry Brierly (Brierly), previously associated with Royal Alliance Associates, INC., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Brierly 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 $5,000.00 on March 07, 2022.

Client alleges that the representative failed to understand the tax ramifications of terminating an annuity resulting in early distribution penalties as well as a sizeable tax liability.

Broker Robert Devito in Nylife Securities LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

December 4, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Robert Devito (Devito), currently associated with Nylife Securities LLC, has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint. Several of those complaints against Devito concern allegations of high frequency trading activity also referred to as churning or excessive trading among other securities laws violations.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $9,798.59 on March 16, 2022.

Time Frame: Unspecified. The matter is comprised of 61 individual claimants with the same alleged allegations of unsuitable investments, excessive trading, and failure to supervise. RR covered services for 1 claimant in this matter.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Daniel Corey in Firm Bankers Life Securities, INC.

December 4, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Daniel Corey (Corey), currently associated with Bankers Life Securities, INC., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Corey 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 $22,253.00 on March 14, 2022.

In a written complaint received on March 14, 2022, addressed to Bankers Life and Casualty Company (BLC), an affiliated insurance company, clients alleged that their financial representative recommended they cancel their term life policies held with another financial institution and purchase whole life policies, funding premiums with withdrawals from their securities account with the Firm. Clients further allege their income was insufficient to fund the new premiums and requested their life insurance policies be cancelled and all money be refunded. Clients also alleged that their financial representative recommended the purchase of a Premium Bonus Indexed Annuity (PBIA) from BLC in February of 2020 comprising a high percentage of their liquid net worth and subject to high surrender charges. BLC found that the both the life insurance policies and the annuity were suitable recommendations and denied the complaint, but as an accommodation refunded the premiums paid into their life insurance policies minus the costs and expenses of the insurance over the period of time they were held via a settlement and release. The financial representative did not contribute nor was we asked to contribute to the settlement. While the life insurance policies and the annuity sold to the client were not securities and were issued by BLC, the Firm is reporting this complaint because the source of funding came from the sale of, or income generated by, securities and were recommended by a financial representative of the Firm.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Matthew Shapiro in Firm Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC

December 4, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Matthew Shapiro (Shapiro), previously associated with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Shapiro 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 $422,000.00 on March 16, 2022.

The Customer alleged unsuitable investment recommendations.

Broker Shu Zhang in Morgan Stanley Firm Has Customer Complaint

December 4, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

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

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint on March 14, 2022.

Client alleged, inter alia, that their instructions to liquidate their shares of blackberry stock were not followed December 2021 damages unspecified