From September 2016 through November 2022, Ally Invest Securities LLC failed to preserve over 22.6 million business-related electronic communications, violating key federal securities laws and FINRA regulations. As a result, Ally has been censured and fined $850,000 by FINRA. The violations underscore how crucial it is for brokerage firms to maintain proper supervisory and recordkeeping…
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Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated has agreed to pay $9.5 million to settle a FINRA arbitration claim filed by former Miami Dolphins safety Reshad Jones. The claim stemmed from alleged misconduct by Jones’s former financial advisor, Isaiah Thomas Williams, who was accused of misappropriating over $2.5 million from the NFL veteran’s investment accounts.…
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FINRA Sanctions Zachary Taylor The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has suspended former Merrill Lynch and Oppenheimer broker Zachary Ellis Taylor (CRD #6074776) for nine months in all capacities after finding that he willfully violated federal securities laws and FINRA rules. According to a FINRA settlement order (No. 2022075083801), between August 2020 and June 2023,…
Continue reading ›The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has censured and fined J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (JPMS) $150,000 for supervisory failures tied to the delivery of preliminary prospectuses in initial public offerings (IPOs). According to a FINRA Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC), between January 1, 2018, and December 30, 2021, JPMS’s supervisory system, including its…
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The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined Interactive Brokers LLC $650,000 and issued a censure after finding that the online brokerage firm failed to exercise proper due diligence before approving certain self-directed customers to trade options. The sanctions stem from deficiencies that spanned more than five years, between November 2019 and December 2024, and…
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The GWG Wind Down Trust filed its latest status report on August 15, 2025, with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, providing new details for GWG L Bond investors. Liz Freeman, the GWG Wind Down Trustee, also released the trust’s recent financial statements. These reports cover the Trust’s activities for the quarter and year ending June 30,…
Continue reading ›In another significant win for GWG L Bond investors, a FINRA arbitration panel has ordered Arete Wealth Management, LLC to pay $280,000 in compensatory damages to a harmed investor. The award, issued on August 11, 2025 (FINRA Arbitration Award No. 22-01257), marks the second time in as many years that the Chicago-based broker-dealer has been…
Continue reading ›The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced significant settlements with Emerson Equity, LLC—the managing broker-dealer for the now-defunct GWG Holdings, Inc. (“GWG”) L Bond program. It also settled with Tony Barouti, one of the nation’s most prolific L Bond sales representatives. These enforcement actions provide further confirmation of what Iorio Law PLLC has…
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Iorio Law PLLC is actively investigating sales practices by broker-dealers, including Osaic and Janney Montgomery Scott, concerning their recommendations of the Easterly ROCMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund (tickers: RMJAX, RMHIX, RMHVX). This mutual fund, marketed as a source of high-income returns, has collapsed, leaving investors with catastrophic losses. The fund has significantly underperformed and…
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The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has sanctioned David Lerner Associates, Inc., and three of its registered representatives for the unsuitable sale of illiquid, high-commission, proprietary energy securities to its customers, specifically Energy 11, L.P., and Energy Resources 12, L.P. According to FINRA, David Lerner sold nearly $600 million of these securities to over 6,000…
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