Securities Lawyers Blog

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.

Keith Dagostino Subject to Over A Dozen Customer Complaints

December 27, 2024 | by Staff Attorney

Former financial advisor Keith Dagostino (Dagostino), formerly employed by brokerage firms Aegis Capital Corp (Aegis) and EF Hutton LLC (EF Hutton) has been subject to at least 18 customer complaints during the course of his career. According to a BrokerCheck reports most of the recent customer complaints concern either equity securities and initial public offering securities (IPOs). The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP have represented hundreds of investors who suffered losses caused by these types of investments.

In August 2024 a customer complained that Dagostino violated the securities laws by alleging that Dagostino recommended unsuitable investment strategy and breach of fiduciary duty. The claim alleges $1 million in damages and is currently pending.

In August 2024 a customer complained that Dagostino violated the securities laws by alleging that Dagostino recommended unsuitable investment strategy and breach of fiduciary duty. The claim alleges $589,000 in damages and is currently pending.

In August 2024 a customer complained that Dagostino violated the securities laws by alleging that Dagostino mishandled and IPO transaction and the Claimant seeks a return of the funds. According to the broker comment this matter involves the initial public offering of Veg House which EF Hutton negotiated for Claimant’s securities purchase agreement with PlantX for the Veg House shares. The claim alleges $1 million in damages and is currently pending.

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.

Wells Fargo Advisor James Paige Has Customer Complaints

December 2, 2024 | by Staff Attorney

Financial advisor James Paige (Paige), currently employed by brokerage firm Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC (Wells Fargo) has been subject to at least five customer complaints and one tax lien or judgement during the course of his career. According to the most recent complaints, Paige has been accused by customers of engaging in unsuitably risky investments among other allegations against the financial advisor.

In February 2024 a customer complained that Paige violated the securities laws by alleging that Paige in or around the year 2021 made financial recommendations that were unsuitable and too risky for Claimants’ investment knowledge and needs. The claim is currently pending.

In May 2023 a customer complained that Paige violated the securities laws by alleging that Paige, sometime after 2020, failed to diversity her portfolio and made unsuitable investment recommendations without disclosing the risks involved with the investments. The claim settled for $95,000.

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.

Did Your Financial Advisor Recommend Super Micro Computer? – Investor Loss Recovery

November 25, 2024 | by Staff Attorney

The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating claims that investors were recommended to invest substantial amounts of their savings in high risk stock Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI). Investors whose advisors failed to act in their clients best interests may seek recovery before The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Super Micro Computer stock investors have been on the proverbial “wild ride” of the year. At the beginning of 2024 Super Micro Computer stock traded under $30 per share. By March of 2024 – in only 3 months – the stock was trading just shy of $120 per share and nearly a 300% gain during that time. Since March 2024 however, Super Micro Computer stock investors have watched the stock slide all the way down back to under $20 in November 2024 only to then begin to rebound.

What’s causing the wild moves? Super Micro Computer has been one of the big gainers in the artificial intelligence (AI) space and demand for its server systems has surged. Super Micro Computer’s revenues have more than doubled in 2024 and the consensus estimates see another additional 80% increase potentially. With that said, Super Micro Computer has been plagued by an accounting scandal and potential delisting from the stock exchange. Recently, Super Micro Computer hired BDO as its public auditor to replace the quitting Ernst & Young firm that resigned in October after it raised concerns regarding the company’s financial statements. With a new auditor, Super Micro Computer hopes to file two overdue financial reports including its 10-K report for the fiscal year ending June and its most recent quarterly filing for September. Super Micro Computer has also submitted a compliance plan to stay on the stock exchange. However, in August Hindenburg Research pointed to multiple red flags in the company’s accounting practices and The Wall Street Journal reported in late September that the U.S. Justice Department may be probing the company.

Glennon Cole Has Many Customer Investment Complaints

November 25, 2024 | by Staff Attorney

Former financial advisor Glennon Cole (Cole), formerly employed by brokerage firm Moloney Securities Co., Inc. (Moloney) has been subject to at least 13 customer complaints, one tax lien, one employment termination for cause, and one criminal matter during the course of his career. 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.

In June 2019 it appears that Cole had a domestic criminal matter involving harassment and threating to disseminate images. Thereafter in February 2021 Moloney discharged Cole as being disqualified under the securities laws.

DDPs include products such as non-traded REITs, oil and gas offerings, equipment leasing products, and other alternative investments. These alternative investments virtually never profit investors and are almost always unsuitable for investors because of their high fee and cost structure. Brokers selling these products are paid additional commission in order to hype these inferior quality investments providing a perverse incentives to create an artificial market for the investments.

Several studies have confirmed that Non-traded REITs underperform publicly traded REITs with some showing that Non-Traded REITs cannot even beat safe benchmarks, like U.S. treasury bonds. Brokers selling these products must disclose to the investor that non-traded REITs provide lower investment returns than treasuries while being high risk and illiquid – but almost never do. Because investors are not compensated with additional return in exchange for higher risk and illiquidity, these kinds of alternative investment products are rarely, if ever, appropriate for investors. Continue Reading