On Friday, May 14, 2021, GPB Capital Holdings LLC (“GPB Capital”), a private equity firm based in New York, registered some units in its GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP (“GPB Automotive”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As part of its filing, GPB Automotive disclosed that it had substantial doubt of its ability to continue operations.…
Continue reading ›The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred stockbroker Candido Viyella. from the securities industry. Mr. Viyella was expelled from the brokerage industry for refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation. FINRA’s investigation originated after Morgan Stanley discharged Mr. Viyella and disclosed concerns regarding his participation, involvement, and a beneficial ownership interest in an outside…
Continue reading ›The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred stockbroker William Dixon. from the securities industry. Mr. Dixon was expelled from the brokerage industry for refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation. FINRA’s investigation originated after Securities America, Inc. discharged Mr. Dixon and alleged that he signed his deceased client’s signature and initials on multiple annuity…
Continue reading ›The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred stockbroker Eric Vici. from the securities industry. Mr. Vici was expelled from the brokerage industry for refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation that originated from a complaint made to FINRA by the executor of a customer’s estate about his handling of the customer’s funds. Mr. Vici…
Continue reading ›The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Department of Enforcement has filed a disciplinary proceeding complaint against former broker Adam Belardino. The complaint alleges that Mr. Belardino failed to cooperate with a FINRA investigation, which was initiated in Aril 2019 after Mr. Belardino’ s employment was terminated by MML Investors Services, LLC and disclosed (through a Form…
Continue reading ›This post is part of a series of investigative blog posts that spotlight modern-day boiler rooms that operate under the guise of a reputable brokerage firm. Many of the broker-dealers featured in this series still use boiler room tactics such as cold-calling customers and high-pressure or aggressive sales tactics. Other brokerage firms have a propensity…
Continue reading ›On May 12, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced an award of approximately $3.6 million to a whistleblower who brought valuable information to the SEC’s attention, which lead to an investigation that ended in a successful SEC enforcement action. According to Emily Pasquinelli, Acting Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, the…
Continue reading ›You worked hard, opened a brokerage or retirement account, and invested your savings with a financial advisor or stockbroker, only to suffer financial losses due to bad investment advice, misleading sales pitches, or brokers that were driven by commissions. Now what? Can I Sue My Financial Advisor Over Losses? Yes, you can sue your financial…
Continue reading ›On May 10, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced an award of approximately $22 million to two whistleblowers whose information and assistance aided the SEC that resulted in successful SEC enforcement actions brought against a financial services firm. The first whistleblower, who was the initial source of the investigation, received an award of…
Continue reading ›On Thursday, January 28, 2021, Robinhood designated specific stocks “position closing only,” meaning that customers could not purchase additional shares in those stocks. The targeted stocks included GameStop (NYSE: GME), AMC (NYSE: AMC), Blackberry (NYSE: BB), Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Koss Corporation (NYSE: KOSS), and Express, Inc. (NYSE: EXPR). Robinhood was joined by other online brokers,…
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