FINRA bars Lonnie Nguyen aka Luan Nguyen.
Lonnie Nguyen, a registered representative from Irvine, California, formerly with Pruco Securities was barred from FINRA membership as a result of failing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation.
Quinn McClendon is barred by FINRA.
Quinn McClendon, a registered representative from Philadelphia, PA, formerly with Citizens Securities, Mutual of Omaha Investors Services and Wells Fargo Advisors was barred from FINRA membership as a result of refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation.
FINRA bars Barry Jin of Fresh Meadows, NY
Barry Jin, (aka Boqian Jin) a registered representative from Fresh Meadows, NY, formerly with Spartan Capital, Lampert Capital, PHX Financial and John Carris Securities was barred from FINRA membership as a result of refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation.
Broker Barry Connell charged by SEC, terminated from Morgan Stanley, Barred by FINRA
The securities attorneys at The Law Office of David Liebrader have opened an investigation into the securities related conduct of Barry Connell, a FINRA registered representative from Chester New Jersey, previously affiliated with Morgan Stanley in Ridgewood New Jersey.
Barry Connell has been FINRA licensed to sell securities since 1998, and has been affiliated with Morgan Stanley since 2008. Prior to that Connell worked for UBS Financial Services in Pearl River, NJ.
Award against Network 1 Financial broker Shane Melito
In May, 2017, a FINRA arbitrator sitting in Los Angeles, CA issued a $51,000 binding arbitration award against Shane Melito, a registered representative with Network 1 Financial Securities.
The underlying matter involved allegations that Shane Melito made unsuitable investments and breached his fiduciary duty to his customer. Claims of excessive commissions, excessive trading and over concentration were made by the Claimant.
CFP Board Disciplines Sharon Fall.
In October, 2016 the Certified Financial Planner Board’s Commission of Discipline and Ethics announced the discipline of former LPL Financial, International Assets Advisory and Simplicity Wealth rep Sharon Fall by issuing a permanent bar and a prohibition against her using the CFP designation and certification. Fall, of Chester, Maryland had failed to file an answer to the CFP Board’s complaint seeking answers on her FINRA bar, and her terminations from two FINRA broker dealers.
The CFP Board was seeking to investigate Fall’s recent history in the securities industry. Their complaint alleged that Fall had been terminated from a member firm for borrowing money from clients, had been terminated from another firm for communicating with clients before her license was approved, and had been barred by FINRA for refusing to cooperate into a FINRA investigation that she had improperly borrowed money from clients. In addition, the state of Maryland filed an administrative proceeding against Fall alleging that she engaged in dishonest and unethical conduct by borrowing money from clients. The action resulted in a licensing bar and a $15,000 fine
Richard Sampley suspended by FINRA.
In December, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) announced that Richard Sampley of Atlanta, Georgia, a registered representative formerly with Raymond James, Morgan Keegan and UBS Financial submitted an acceptance, waiver and consent letter whereby he was suspended from association with any FINRA member for ten months, and assessed a fine of $15,000.
The FINRA complaint asserted that Richard Sampley participated in private securities transactions in a renewable energy company without getting prior written permission from his member firm. The AWC detailed Sampley’s involvement in the transactions such as arranging for clients to receive warrants to purchase shares in the company, and his receipt of compensation, and use of firm resources to facilitate the transactions.
Pete Lappin suspended by FINRA
In December, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) announced that Pete Lappin of Las Vegas, Nevada, a registered representative formerly with MetLife Securities, New England Securities and Wedbush Securities submitted an acceptance, waiver and consent letter whereby he was suspended from association with any FINRA member for three months, and ordered to pay restitution to customers. The suspension was effective October, 2016 through January, 2017
The FINRA complaint asserted that Pete Lappin recommended unit investment trusts to clients using an unsuitable short term strategy that increased the costs to his customers. UITs are designed to be longer term investments, and FINRA found that Lappin’s clients held the UITs for a little over three months, thereby increasing costs, and in some cases, causing losses.
Kenley Brisard barred by FINRA.
In December, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) announced that Kenley Brisard of Weston, Florida, a registered representative formerly with Ridgeway & Conger and Gunn Allen Financial submitted an acceptance, waiver and consent letter whereby he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity.
The FINRA complaint asserted that Kenley Brisard participated in an unregistered offering of securities and made material misrepresentations about the investments. The investments sold by Brisard and another registered rep were “interest only strips” from loans issued by the Small Business Administration. FINRA found that Brisard improperly marketed the securities using a “general solicitation” which contained false information that was contradicted by the prospectus for the underlying securities. In March, 2016 Ridgeway and Conger discharged Brisard for selling unsuitable investments and charging excess commissions to his customers.
Michael Babyak barred by FINRA
In December, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) announced that Michael Babyak of Randolph, New Jersey, a registered representative formerly with Leigh Baldwin and LPL Financial submitted an acceptance, waiver and consent letter whereby he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. The FINRA complaint asserted that Michael Babyak participated in private securities transactions with firm customers without obtaining prior permission or approval. These clients invested over four million dollars into a company set up by Babyak. LPL financial discharged Babyak once it discovered the transactions, citing firm policy prohibiting soliciting unapproved investments or engaging in loan transactions with customers.
Registration and disciplinary history
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