The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended stockbroker Joseph Lianzo from the securities industry for eight months. Mr. Lianzo consented to the suspension after FINRA alleged that from March 2016 through November 2019, while associated with Laidlaw & Company (UK) LTD. and SW Financial, Mr. Lianzo excessively traded four customers’ accounts and placed 13…
Continue reading ›On September 1, 2021, Robinhood ($Hood) filed its first amendment to its Form S-1 Registration Statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The public filing, which amends the registration statement that Robinhood filed in connection with its July 2021 initial public offering (IPO), discloses that the SEC’s Division of Examinations and the Financial…
Continue reading ›The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred stockbroker Donald Fowler from the securities industry. Mr. Fowler consented to the suspension after FINRA alleged that from December 2014 through December 2018, while associated with Worden Capital Management LLC, Mr. Fowler churned and excessively traded four customers’ accounts in violation of FINRA Rules 2111 and 2010.…
Continue reading ›**Update: September 9, 2022** On September 6, 2022, a group of Oppenheimer customers were awarded over $36 million by a FINRA arbitration panel as compensation for their investment losses in Horizon Private Equity, III, LLC. (“Horizon”). Horizon is an alleged Ponzi scheme operated by John Woods, a broker who was registered with Oppenheimer & Co.…
Continue reading ›On August 23, 2021, a FINRA Dispute Resolution Services arbitration panel in Baltimore, Maryland, ordered UBS Financial Services, Inc. (“UBS”) to pay $405,000 to customers who invested in UBS’s Yield Enhancement Strategy (“YES”). The award included $300,000 in compensatory damages, $30,000 in costs, and $75,000 in attorneys’ fees. The customers alleged that UBS and broker…
Continue reading ›August 24, 2021 – This morning, investors of GPB Automotive Portfolio LP woke up to more worrisome news, as the Wall Street Journal reported that the GPB Capital Holdings LLC, is looking to sell its largest dealership group, Prime Automotive, raising speculation that the GPB Automotive is running out of cash. The latest news follows…
Continue reading ›The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred stockbroker William Wright from the securities industry. Mr. Wright consented to the bar after FINRA alleged that he failed to cooperate with a FINRA investigation into whether Mr. Wright inappropriately borrowed money from a customer. Mr. Wright was associated with National Securities Corporation in New York, NY,…
Continue reading ›The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended stockbrokers Alfonse Stazzone and Maxim Beliakov from the securities industry for four months. The financial advisors consented to the suspension after FINRA alleged that, while associated with Woodstock Financial Group, Inc., they excessively and unsuitably traded a customer’s account between September 2017 and August 2018. FINRA also…
Continue reading ›On August 6, 2021, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Energy 11 GP, LLC, the general partner of Energy 11, L.P. (“Energy 11”), sent a letter to investors of Energy 11. Despite the upbeat and optimistic tone of the letter, as well as the representations made by David Lerner Associates, Inc.’s financial advisors to…
Continue reading ›On August 13, 2021, a FINRA arbitration panel in New York, New York, ruled in favor of a brokerage customer that invested in GPB Automotive Portfolio LP and GPB Waste Management LP at the recommendation of his financial advisor at Hightower Securities, LLC. The arbitration panel ordered Hightower Securities, LLC to refund $163,201 to the…
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