Securities Fraud Lawyer Blog
FINRA suspends former LPL broker Michael Barranco
In September, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) announced that Michael Barranco of Montgomery, Alabama, a registered representative formerly with LPL Financial submitted an acceptance, waiver and consent letter whereby he was suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for two years and fined $20,000. The FINRA complaint asserted that Michael Barranco participated in three separate private securities transactions away from the firm, without obtaining permission from LPL in advance. FINRA found that Michael Barranco engaged in nearly 40 private securities transactions between 2010-2015, many involving 13% notes issued by private companies
Registration and disciplinary history
In order to lawfully sell investments to the public, a registered rep must either be registered or exempt from registration. Michael Barranco was registered with LPL Financial from 2007 – December, 2015.
According to FINRA’s CRD disclosure report, Michael Barranco has been the subject of one regulatory investigation.
The Law Office of David Liebrader practices exclusively in the field of investment loss recovery. For the past 23 years, we have dedicated our law practice to assisting investors who have been victims of investment fraud via fraudulent and unsuitable investment transactions. During that time we have recovered money for over one thousand individuals, pension plans, trusts and companies. The recoveries we have obtained via judgments, awards and settlements on behalf of our clients exceed $40,000,000.
When investors contact our firm they can expect prompt attention, and a detailed analysis of their issues. Typical claims that we are asked to review involve “unsuitability (where a financial advisor makes investment recommendations that are inconsistent with a customer’s investment objectives), claims for “churning” (where a broker enters into an excessive number of trades for the purpose of generating commissions), claims involving illiquid investments such as private placements (I.e., real estate investment trusts, limited partnerships, equipment leasing and oil and gas drilling programs) as well as claims for violations of state securities laws, which often provide investors remedies like attorney’s fees and interest, if they are successful on the claim.
If you suspect that you have been the victim of investment fraud, or had a financial advisor recommend unsuitable investments to you, call us today for a free, confidential consultation at (702) 380-3131.