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According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Timothy Mannino (Mannino), currently associated with Edward Jones, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Mannino 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 $60,000.00 on March 24, 2025.

Claimant alleges registered representative took instructions from Claimant’s wife to liquidate securities and withdraw funds when she was not an authorized party.

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Patrick Norris (Norris), currently associated with Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Norris 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 $17,019.00 on March 24, 2025.

The client alleged that in April 2022, the advisor informed her that if she distributed funds from her Q John Hancock annuity and transferred them to her Ameriprise IRA it would not be a taxable event; however, John Hancock reported this as income causing her to incur taxes and penalties.

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Benjamin Schick (Schick), currently associated with Cobalt Capital, INC., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Schick 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 $900,000.00 on March 22, 2025.

Based on Respondent records, the Claimants’ investment in iCap investments through the Respondent totaled $210,000, making three purchases between December 2019 and January 2021-the last of which occurred more than four years prior to the filing of the Statement of Claim. However, Claimant claimed that from 2019 to 2022, Respondents recommended private iCap investment products totaling approximately $900,000. Claimant, nearing 70 years of age, claimed that she had made it clear at that time that she wanted a portion of her assets to be invested in safe, income-producing investments. Instead, Respondents allegedly recommended unsuitable, high-risk, alternative investments in complex securities products and in the process, ignored the concentration issues, misrepresented the material risks, and ignored the Claimant’s instructions.\, Claimant asserts that the iCap investments were presented with optimistic and baseless performance projections, while proper due diligence would have revealed significant losses, negative cash flows, and other issues. Respondents allegedly failed to disclose these risks or the concentration dangers of recommending multiple investments. By Fall 2023, material risks-such as lawsuits, halted payments to shareholders, payroll tax issues, and the resignation of the CEO-became public knowledge.\, Rather than disclosing these risks, Respondents allegedly assured Claimant that they had conducted due diligence and that iCap was a reliable investment. Claimant believes Respondents were negligent, breached fiduciary duties, and violated Regulation Best Interest (Rule 15l-1(a)) by recommending unsuitable non-traditional investments.\, Respondents are accused of failing to exercise the required care, skill, and diligence in understanding the risks and costs of these investments or comparing them to safer alternatives better suited to Claimant’s needs. They also allegedly failed in their ongoing responsibilities to monitor and assist Claimant and instead persuaded her to invest further in these high-risk products without proper disclosures or due diligence.

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

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint on March 24, 2025.

Violation of common law fraud; breach of fiduciary duty; negligence

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that Broker Hector Villaescusa (Villaescusa) 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 Villaescusa was employed by Bulltick, LLC at the time of the activity.  If you have been a victim of Villaescusa’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 $20,000,000.00 on March 20, 2025.

The allegations in this civil complaint were the subject of a prior U4 filing submitted on February 5, 2024 (filing ID 63634608), and amended on April 10, 2024 (filing ID 64281386), regarding a civil complaint originally filed in New York state court in January 2024. That prior, original complaint was recently dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction. The civil complaint that is the subject of this U4 amended filing is a refiled complaint, but now in Florida state court. As was described to FINRA staff in the prior U4 filings, Plaintiffs are private investment vehicles associated with a family office of a high-net-worth family and allege that they lost money investing a private special vehicle that invested in convertible notes issued by Theia International group LLC (‘Theia’) a technology company. Plaintiffs invested a total of $20 million in January 2021. The complaint alleges that Theia, the representative and others made misrepresentations in connection with the investments and that Theia, along with the representative and others, misappropriated the plaintiff’s funds.

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker John Larsen (Larsen), currently associated with Raymond James Financial Services, INC., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Larsen 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 $3,000,000.00 on March 21, 2025.

Client alleged trades were not in line with her risk tolerance and placed without her knowledge. Allegation Activity Dates: 12/01/2023 – 03/21/2025.

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Todd Walker (Walker), currently associated with Centaurus Financial, INC., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Walker 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 $200,000.00 on March 24, 2025.

The customer alleges that in September of 2012, and December of 2019, the Registered Representative recommended and misrepresented unsuitable, high-risk, illiquid investments.

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Robert Straight (Straight), currently associated with RBC Capital Markets, LLC, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Straight 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 March 21, 2025.

The client alleged critical information was not communicated and they were unable to make an informed decision about their annuity.

Currently financial advisor Cataldo Panici (Panici), currently employed by brokerage firm LPL Financial LLC has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint. According to a BrokerCheck reports most of the recent customer complaints concern either corporate debt securities or alternative investments such as direct participation products (DPPs) like business development companies (BDCs), non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), oil & gas programs, annuities, and private placements.  The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP have represented hundreds of investors who suffered losses caused by these types of high risk, low reward products.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint on March 20, 2025.

Claimants allege that between June 2012 and June 2023, representative made unsuitable investments in REITs.

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker John Shaffer (Shaffer), currently associated with Gwn Securities INC., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Shaffer 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 $500,000.00 on March 25, 2025.

Claimant alleges that rep misrepresented the material facts involved with the reit investment. Claimant also alleges that the rep was negligent in managing claimant’s investment.

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