Independent Financial Group Tag Archives

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Richard Mireles in Firm Independent Financial Group, LLC

March 20, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

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

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on September 13, 2024.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Mireles consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he failed to reasonably respond to red flags, which were escalated to him, of excessive trading by a registered representative who excessively traded customers’ accounts. The findings stated that Mireles supervised his member firm’s lower-level supervisors who reviewed certain of the firm’s trade alerts and blotters, including a ‘high-principal solicited trade’ alert. Numerous trades placed by the registered representative in all of the affected customers’ accounts repeatedly appeared on that alert, which was based on a ruleset whose parameters were designed to flag solicited trades with a high principal amount. The lower-level designated supervisors reviewing trade alerts developed concerns that the registered representative was excessively trading customers’ accounts and brought these concerns to Mireles’s attention. Mireles, however, directed the supervisor to perform only trade-by-trade assessments to review for compliance with Reg BI and suitability, and not to review the series of trades that the registered representative was placing within an account for potential excessive trading. The registered representative excessively traded the customers’ accounts, causing a level of trading inconsistent with the customers’ investment profiles and that was not in their best interest or was not suitable. Collectively, these customers paid more than $2.2 million in total trading costs and incurred realized losses totaling approximately $2.2 million.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Angelo Talebi in Firm Independent Financial Group, LLC

March 6, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Angelo Talebi (Talebi), previously associated with Independent Financial Group, LLC, has at least 4 disclosable events. These events include 4 customer complaints, alleging that Talebi 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 January 22, 2025.

Alleges investment was not suitable

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Terry Griffith in Firm Independent Financial Group, LLC

March 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Terry Griffith (Griffith), currently associated with Independent Financial Group, LLC, has at least 2 disclosable events. These events include one customer complaint, one tax lien, alleging that Griffith recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on January 27, 2025.

Due to recent disclosure incidents regarding exercising discretion in client accounts without obtaining prior permission, the Division placed conditions on Griffith’s registration as a BD Agent and as an IAR of IFG in Massachusetts.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Sharon Green in Firm Independent Financial Group, LLC

February 22, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Sharon Green (Green), currently associated with Independent Financial Group, LLC, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one tax lien, alleging that Green recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on December 09, 2024.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Green consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that she engaged in an OBA without prior written notice to her member firm. The findings stated that Green provided consulting services to individuals, including three customers of the firm, all of whom were seniors, related to estate planning, medical care, family mediation, and budgeting and debt management. Green received approximately $35,000 in compensation for these services.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Daniel Mann in Firm Independent Financial Group, LLC

February 15, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Daniel Mann (Mann), currently associated with Independent Financial Group, LLC, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Mann 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 $25,449.82 on January 13, 2025.

Client alleged that notes did not perform as anticipated, resulting in losses.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Terry Griffith in Firm Independent Financial Group, LLC

February 13, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Terry Griffith (Griffith), currently associated with Independent Financial Group, LLC, has at least 2 disclosable events. These events include one customer complaint, one tax lien, alleging that Griffith recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on January 27, 2025.

Due to recent disclosure incidents regarding exercising discretion in client accounts without obtaining prior permission, the Division placed conditions on Griffith’s registration as a BD Agent and as an IAR of IFG in Massachusetts.

Broker Michael Tannery in Independent Financial Group, LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

February 5, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

Currently financial advisor Michael Tannery (Tannery), currently employed by brokerage firm Independent Financial Group, 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 with a damage request of $150,000.00 on January 03, 2025.

The statement of claim does not contain any specific information on which investments were not suitable, just that the complexities of the investments were not fully explained, and the risks were not disclosed in a fair and balanced manner (including their illiquidity, lack of transparency and the nature of a complex alternative investment such as a reit).

Gana Weinstein Represents Victims of Financial Advisor Stewart Ginn

February 5, 2024 | by Staff Attorney

The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are currently representing victims of financial advisor Stewart Ginn (Ginn), currently employed by Independent Financial Group, LLC (IFG). BrokerCheck records reports that Ginn has been subject to at least six customer complaints during the course of his career and one pending regulatory action. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Ginn’s customer complaint alleges that Gin engaged in excessive trading or churning of investor accounts among other allegations of misconduct relating to the handling of their accounts.

On October 17, 2023 FINRA named Ginn as a respondent in a complaint alleging that he churned and excessively traded customer accounts. FINRA alleges that none of the customers was an aggressive investor, one of the customers was in her late 80s and suffering from a cognitive disability; a second retired customer was in her late 70s; and a third retired customer was between 69 and 71 years old. FINRA found that Ginn engaged in frequent in-and-out trades in the customer accounts, while charging high commissions on both buys and sells. According to the complaint, Ginn’s trading caused the customers to incur realized losses of more than $2.22 million, while generating more than $2.24 million in commissions for Ginn and his member firm.

Kirk Badii Has Six Customer Complaints and Multiple Terminations

October 10, 2022 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial advisor Kirk Badii (Badii) has at least eight disclosable events. These events include six customer complaints alleging that Badii engaged in some form of investment related misconduct in the handling of the client’s accounts. In addition, Badii has been terminated for cause by two firms. Badii is currently employed by Independent Financial Group, LLC (Independent Financial). Badii’s customer complaints alleges that Kemp recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including alternative investments among other allegations and complaints.

In December 2021 a customer complained that Badii violated the securities laws by alleging that Badii made unsuitable investment recommendations to an elderly homemaker, mismanaged her accounts by recommending alternative investments that were unsuitable. The Claimant states that credit lines were established to qualify the Claimant for those alternative investment purchases as well as using those credit lines to make distributions to Claimant’s family which family believed to be from income generated from investments. Additional accounts were alleged to be established that contained concentrated unsuitable investments and that trading was made in these accounts on a discretionary basis without being approved for discretionary trading specific to reverse convertible securities. The investor alleged damages of $3 million and the claim is currently pending.

In August 2018 UBS terminated Badii alleging that he was discharged after firm review found that FA: (i) violated firm’s social media policy and blocked management’s ability to monitor his social media and (ii) violated firm’s KYC/AML policy in connection with the onboarding of certain clients and prospects.

Broker Jerry Tuma Has Customer Suitability Complaints

October 6, 2022 | by Staff Attorney

Advisor Jerry Tuma (Tuma), currently employed by brokerage firm Independent Financial Group, LLC (Independent Financial) has been subject to at least five disclosures and customer complaints. According to a BrokerCheck report the customer complaints concern investment advisory activity and one complaint involves 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 and have recovered in excess of $50 million in investor losses.

In January 2022 a customer complained that Tuma violated the securities laws by alleging that Tuma made investment recommendations that were not suitable and was not in line with stated objectives. The claim is currently pending and the investor seeks $200,000 in damages.

In January 2022 a customer complained that Tuma violated the securities laws by alleging that the client engaged CFS in an advisory relationship beginning in 12/2017. The client also alleged her account was not managed in accordance with her best interests, that certain management and product fees were excessive, and in inappropriate products given her risk profile. The claim is currently settled for $14,906 in damages.