Former Orem, Utah broker Clark Gardner has been barred by FINRA and the SEC In June, 2016 the SEC announced a bar against former Sammons Securities and Cetera Advisors broker Clark Gardner. This followed on the heels of a bar issued by FINRA in 2014. The FINRA bar related to…
Vincent Mehdizadeh agrees to a ban, and a $12 million fine to settle SEC charges related to Medbox. In March, 2017 entrepreneur Vincent Mehdizadeh agreed to settle charges brought by the SEC against him and his company Medbox, a legal Marijuana consulting company (now known as Notis Global- ticker symbol…
Bart Ellis pleads guilty to defrauding clients In July, 2017 former Ameriprise Financial broker Bart Ellis plead guilty to money laundering and defrauding his clients in a case involving over one million dollars. Ellis will be sentenced on October 2 where he faces up to 10 years in prison for…
In May, 2017, a FINRA arbitrator panel sitting in Los Angeles issued a $1,378,800 binding arbitration award against Charles Laverty in a case involving personal loans that the clients made to Laverty. The underlying matter involved allegations that Charles Laverty breached his fiduciary duty by soliciting a loan in violation…
LPL Financial hit with $160,000 FINRA arbitration award. In June, 2017, a FINRA arbitrator panel sitting in San Francisco issued a $160,000 binding arbitration award against LPL Financial in a case involving VIX derivative securities. The VIX is a measure of the expected volatility in the stock market, specifically the…
Bob Simons suspended over discretionary trading In June, 2016 FINRA suspended International Assets Advisory broker Bob Simons for 45 days and fined him $5,000 over allegations that Simons used a private email account to conduct firm business and exercised discretion in customer accounts without complying with firm protocol for doing…
Todd Pilosi, a registered representative from Clovis, California, formerly with LPL Financial was suspended from FINRA membership as a result of an investigation into his borrowing money from a customer without obtaining firm approval, which is a violation of LPL and FINRA rules. Pilosi entered into an acceptance waiver and…
John Olinghouse, a registered representative from Sparks, Nevada, formerly with HD Vest and Fortune Financial Services was suspended from FINRA membership as a result of an investigation into his reusing customer signatures by affixing them to different documents. Olinghouse entered into an acceptance waiver and consent agreement with FINRA in…
Clay Hoffman, a registered representative from Brunswick, Georgia, formerly with Summit Brokerage Services and Suntrust Investment Services was barred from FINRA membership as a result of failing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation. Hoffman has a long list of customer disputes (14) as well as being the subject of regulators’…
Ronald Broadstone, a registered representative from Columbus, Ohio, formerly with UBS Financial Services was barred from FINRA membership as a result of failing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation. FINRA Rule 9552. Failure to Provide Information or Keep Information Current This FINRA rule provides if a FINRA member fails to…