Barbara Jean Borowsky, of Rome, Georgia, a stockbroker registered with Dempsey Lord Smith LLC, is the subject of a customer initiated investment related Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) securities arbitration claim where the customer requested more than $100,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Borowsky failed to conduct reasonable due diligence on direct investments (DPPs…

LPL Financial LLC, a securities broker-dealer headquartered in Fort Mill, South Carolina, has been censured and fined $5,500,000.00 by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) because LPL Financial failed to supervise direct business transactions, provided false information to customers regarding mutual fund switch transactions, and failed to supervise Business Development Company (“BDC”) transactions. Letter of Acceptance,…

Lei Shen (also known as Peter Shen), of Orange, California, a stockbroker registered with NI Advisors, is the subject of a customer initiated investment related Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) securities arbitration claim in which the customer requested $1,500,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Shen made unsuitable investment recommendations and overconcentrated accounts in business…

Robert Earl Stanlick, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, a stockbroker associated with Presidential Brokerage Inc. (also known as Forta Financial Group Inc.), was the subject of a customer initiated investment related Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) securities arbitration claim that was settled for $34,000.00 in damages based on allegations that Stanlick engaged in breach of fiduciary…

Keith Wayne Patterson of Sugar Land, Texas, a stockbroker registered with Investacorp Inc., was the subject of a customer initiated investment related Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) securities arbitration claim that was settled for $35,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Patterson was negligent, breached his fiduciary duties, and breached a contract in connection with…

Syauching Hung (also known as June Hung), of Diamond Bar, California, a stockbroker registered with Voya Financial Advisors Inc., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) securities arbitration claim in which the customer requested $50,000.00 to $100,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Hung made unsuitable recommendations and…

Yuting Cheng, of Rowland Heights, California, a stockbroker registered with Cetera Investment Services LLC, is the subject of a customer initiated investment related Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) securities arbitration claim in which the customer requested $75,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Cheng made unsuitable recommendations of direct investments (LP interests and DPP interests)…

Michael James Thaler of Henrico, Virginia, a stockbroker registered with Cambridge Investment Research Inc., is the subject of a regulatory investigation that resulted from a customer’s complaint about the stockbroker during the time that Thaler was associated with Cambridge Investment Research Inc. Commonwealth of Virginia Investigation (November 17, 2022). Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Public…

Delio Eduardo Londono (also known as Del Londono), of La Crescenta, California, a stockbroker registered with Sagepoint Financial Inc., was the subject of a customer initiated investment related complaint filed on December 14, 2021, in which the customer requested $300,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Londono engaged in unauthorized trading, made misrepresentations of material…

Genevieve Garcia Mar (also known as Gen Mar), of Northbrook, Illinois, a stockbroker registered with Berthel Fisher Company Financial Services Inc., was the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim in which customers were collectively awarded $467,000.00 in compensatory damages because Mar was held liable on the customer’s claims, including that…

James Patrick Shawver (also known as Jim Shawver), of Boynton Beach, Florida, a stockbroker registered with Independent Financial Group LLC, is the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim in which the customer requested $100,000.01 in damages based upon allegations that Shawver made unsuitable recommendations of non-traded real estate investment trusts…

Shawn Elizabeth Parker of Schaumburg, Illinois, a stockbroker registered with Ameriprise Financial Services LLC, has been barred from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity because Parker converted $25,000.00 from Ameriprise Financial Services. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2019064551501 (April 20, 2022). Parker hosted an  event for approximately…

Hugh Ordway Barndollar III (also known as Hobby Barndollar), of Land O’ Lakes, Florida, a stockbroker registered with Crown Capital Securities L.P., has been fined $10,000.0 and suspended for two years from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity because Barndollar engaged in private securities transactions or selling away. Letter…

Louis Martin Wargo of Brecksville, Ohio, a stockbroker registered with FSC Securities Corporation, was the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim that was settled for $19,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Wargo made unsuitable investment recommendations, was negligent, breached his fiduciary duties, breached a contract, and made misrepresentations and…

Daniel William Sopher of Metuchen, NJ, a stockbroker registered with Kestra Investment Services LLC, is the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim in which the customer requested $73,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Sopher was negligent and breached his fiduciary duties, and that Kestra Investment Services LLC failed to…

Eric Scott Felsenfeld of Bethesda, MD, a stockbroker registered with H. Beck Inc., was the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim that was settled for $30,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Felsenfeld made misrepresentations of material fact in connection with the recommendation and sale of direct investments,  Real Estate…

Thais Drummond Piotrowski (also known as Thais Drummond Moreira), of Boca Raton, FL, a stockbroker registered with Ameriprise Financial Services LLC, is the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim in which the customer requested $150,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Piotrowski made unsuitable recommendations of Business Development Companies or…

Farrukh Shazad Kazmi, of Moorestown, NJ, a stockbroker registered with Berthel Fisher Company Financial Services Inc., was the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim that was settled for $130,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Kazmi made unsuitable recommendations, made misrepresentations of material fact, and failed to perform due diligence…

Joseph Edward Faherty of Old Tappan, NJ, a stockbroker registered with Royal Alliance Associates Inc., was the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim in which the customer requested $100,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Faherty made unsuitable invstment recommendations of Business Development Companies or “BDCs” during the time that…

Erkan Eric Afacan of Paramus, New Jersey, a stockbroker registered with Cambridge Investment Research Inc., has been permitted to resign on September 30, 2022, based upon allegations that Afacan failed to comply with the securities broker dealer’s policies regarding covering client account losses. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Public Disclosure shows that Afacan is referenced…

Michael Joseph Distler (also known as Mike Distler), of Crystal City, Missouri, a stockbroker registered with National Planning Corp., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) securities arbitration claim that was settled for $7,500.00 in damages based upon allegations that Distler made unsuitable recommendations, breached a fiduciary duty,…

William Franklin Richardson (also known as Frank Richardson) of Houston, Texas, a stockbroker formerly registered with Investacorp Inc., is referenced in a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim which was resolved for $90,000.00 in damages based upon accusations of unsuitable Business Development Company and Real Estate Investment Trust purchases  by Richardson while he…

Steven Andrew Greer of Charlotte, North Carolina, a stockbroker formerly registered with GF Investment Services LLC, is identified in a customer initiated investment related civil lawsuit where the customer requested $25,000.00 in damages based upon allegations of unsuitable recommendations by Greer concerning direct participation programs, business development corporations, real estate securities, and fixed annuities during…

Dempsey Lord Smith, a securities broker dealer headquartered in Rome, Georgia, has been censured and fined $70,000.00 by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) supported by findings that it made unsuitable investment recommendations and failed to tell investors adverse information about GPB Capital Holdings LLC. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2019061213901 (March 21, 2022)….

Gerald James O’Halloran of Punta Gorda, Florida, a stockbroker currently registered with Union Capital Company, is the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim in which the customer requested $100,000.00 in damages based upon allegations of O’Halloran’s unsuitable recommendations to the customer concerning business development companies (BDCs) and limited partnerships (LPs)…

Steve Jeffrey Cummings of Fort Deposit, Alabama, a stockbroker formerly registered with Berthel Fisher Company Financial Services Inc., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA arbitration claim where the customer sought $250,000.00 in damages based upon allegations of Cummings’ misrepresentations and unsuitable sales of a business development company and real estate security…

Scott Anthony Lanza of Boca Raton, Florida, a stockbroker formerly registered with LPL Financial LLC, is referenced in a customer initiated investment related, FINRA Securities Arbitration claim where the customer requested compensatory damages founded on accusations of Lanza recommending unsuitable investments to the LPL Financial customer. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Arbitration No. 20-03871. (November…

Shimshon Plotkin (also known as Shim Plotkin), of Chevy Chase, Maryland, a stockbroker currently registered with Independent Financial Group LLC, is the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA Securities Arbitration claim in which the customer requested compensatory damages supported by allegations that they were sold unsuitable investments including real estate investment trusts (non-traded…

David Michael Lademan of Okemos Michigan a stockbroker formerly registered with Kalos Capital Inc. is referenced in a customer initiated investment related written complaint on August 18, 2021, in which the customer requested compensatory damages founded on allegations of false statements and omissions relating to business development company (BDC), real estate security (REIT), equipment leasing,…

Charles Edward Krsek (also known as Chuck Krsek) of The Villages Florida a stockbroker formerly registered with Cetera Advisors LLC is the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim which was settled to resolve allegations that Krsek provided unsuitable recommendations to the customer as it pertained to the purchase of a…

Donald Stephen Woods of Louisville Kentucky a stockbroker formerly registered with LPL Financial LLC is the subject of a customer initiated investment related written complaint on April 30, 2021 where the customer sought $69,000.00 in damages based upon accusations of Woods making unsuitable recommendations of business development companies and real estate securities when he was…

Kevin Marshall McCallum of Birmingham Alabama a stockbroker formerly registered with LPL Financial LLC has been fined $25,000.00 and suspended for one year from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity based upon findings that he provided customers with unsuitable recommendations relating to a speculative business development company. Letter of…

Farrukh Shazad Kazmi of Moorestown New Jersey a stockbroker currently registered with Berthel Fisher Company Financial Services is referenced in a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim where the customer sought $350,000.00 in damages founded on allegations of failed due diligence relating to the customer’s investment in a business development company and real…

Galen Kyle Kopman of Vancouver Washington a stockbroker formerly registered with Centaurus Financial Inc. is the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim which was resolved for $30,774.00 in damages founded on accusations that Kopman had the customer invest in high-risk and illiquid investments. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Arbitration No….

Mark Allen Barrand of Denver Colorado a stockbroker formerly registered with Ameriprise Financial Services is referenced in a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim which was settled for $25,000.00 in damages based upon accusations that the customer had been advised by Barrand to invest in Business Development Corporation of America when Barrand was…

William Franklin Richardson Jr. (also known as Frank Richardson Jr.) of Houston Texas a former stockbroker and investment adviser representative of Investacorp has been referenced in a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim where the customer requested unspecified damages founded on accusations that they had been sold unsuitable business development company products and…

Charles Thomas Stevens of Saint Augustine Florida a stockbroker formerly registered with DH Hill Securities LLLP has been charged by Financial industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Department of Enforcement with failing to testify regarding allegations of his concealment of judgements and tax liens. Department of Enforcement v. Charles Thomas Stevens. 2017056627801 (Dec. 1, 2020). According to…

John Tweardy Jr. of Canonsburg Pennsylvania a stockbroker formerly registered with H. Beck Inc. is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim where the customer requested $1,175,000.00 in damages founded on allegations that the customer had been placed into bad variable annuity, real estate investment trust and business development company products by…

William Perry Randall (also known as W. Perry Randall) of Rockford Illinois a stockbroker formerly registered with LPL Financial LLC is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim in which the customer sought $40,000.00 in damages based upon accusations that the customer had been advised to invest in energy sector investments which…

Barry David Abrams of Marlton New Jersey a stockbroker formerly employed by Ameriprise Financial Services is referenced in a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim where the customer sought $20,000.00 in damages based upon accusations that the customer had been placed into unsuitable investments including Corporate Capital Trust and FS Energy and Power (FSEP) which…

Alvery Anthony Bartlett Jr. of Saint Louis Missouri a stockbroker formerly employed by Berthel Fisher Company Financial Services has been identified in a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim where the customer sought more than $5,000.00 in estimated damages founded on accusations that customers were placed into unsuitable alternative investments and that Berthel Fisher’s negligence…

Susan Lavon Welo of Mayville North Dakota a stockbroker formerly employed by Cetera Advisor Networks LLC has been identified in a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim where the customer sought $100,000.00 in damages founded on accusations of unsuitable private placements being sold to the customer while Welo was employed by Securities America Inc. and…

Ricardo William Cabrera (also known as Rick Cabrera) of Henderson Nevada a stockbroker formerly associated with GF Investment Services LLC has been referenced in a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim which was settled for $14,000.00 in damages supported by allegations that Cabrera’s recommendations of alternative investments including business development companies and real estate securities…

Christopher Thomas Tolmacs (also known as Chris Tolmacs) of Portage Michigan a stockbroker formerly registered with Triad Advisors Inc. is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim which was settled for $95,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that (1) the customer was placed in bad alternative investments including business development company (BDC)…

John William Carroll of Maumee Ohio a stockbroker formerly registered with Berthel Fisher Company Financial Services Inc. is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim in which the customer requested damages estimated to exceed $5,000.00 supported by accusations that (1) misrepresentations had been made to the customer regarding the terms and conditions…

Mercer Hicks III (also known as Toby Hicks) of Pinehurst North Carolina a stockbroker formerly registered with Capital Investment Group Inc. has been charged by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Department of Enforcement in a Complaint alleging that his advice to customers regarding non-traded business development companies and non-traded real estate investment trust products was…

John Tweardy Jr. of Canonsburg Pennsylvania a stockbroker formerly employed by H. Beck Inc. is referenced in a customer initiated investment related complaint on July 16, 2019 where the customer requested $3,250,000.00 in damages supported by allegations that between December 3, 2013 and May 24, 2019: false or misleading statements had been made by Tweardy…

Angelo Talebi of Sherman Oaks California a stockbroker formerly employed by Independent Financial Group LLC and Royal Alliance Associates Inc. is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim in which the customer requested between $100,000.00 and $500,000.00 in damages supported by accusations that (1) false or misleading statements had been made by…

Robert Scott Ginsberg (also known as Bob Scott Ginsberg) of Wallingford Connecticut a stockbroker currently registered with Woodbury Financial Services Inc. is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim in which the customer sought $500,000.00 in damages based upon accusations that the customer had been placed into unsuitable business development companies (BDC)…

Galen Kyle Kopman of Vancouver Washington a stockbroker formerly registered with LPL Financial LLC is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim where the customer requested $160,000.00 in damages based upon accusations that (1) unfounded statements and omissions had been made by Kopman in regards to risks of direct investments including business…

Shawn Bruce Davis of Auburn California a stockbroker formerly employed by Independent Financial Group LLC is the subject of a customer initiated investment related civil action brought in the Superior Court of the State of California in which the customer requested unspecified damages founded on accusations that (1) false or misleading statements had been made…

Jonathan Todd Pyne (also known as Jon Pyne) of Minneapolis Minnesota a stockbroker currently registered with Berthel Fischer Company Financial Services Inc. is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim which settled for $9,500.00 in damages based upon accusations that between 2007 and 2015: (1) false or misleading statements had been made…

Rodger Sprouse of Overland Park Kansas a stockbroker currently employed by Titan Securities of Addison Texas (CRD No. 131392) of is the subject of an investment related civil action in the Circuit Court of Jackson County Missouri where the investor sought $210,000.00 in damages based upon accusations that Sprouse sold the investor a structured cash…

Delores Jean Yezbak of Cleveland Ohio a stockbroker formerly registered with Lincoln Investment is referenced in a customer initiated investment related written complaint on June 15, 2017 in which the customer sought $70,000.00 in damages supported by allegations that (1) the customer’s account documentation contained false statements in regard to the customer’s income and net…

Donald A. Lueke of Kansas City Missouri a stockbroker formerly employed by Kestra Investment Services LLC is referenced in a customer initiated investment related written complaint which was resolved for $25,000.00 on May 15, 2018 founded on allegations that (1) the customer was placed into business development company group companies that were inappropriate for the…

Gregory Jon Williams of Greenwood Village Colorado a stockbroker currently employed by Presidential Brokerage Inc. is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim where the customer sought $151,337.00 in damages based upon allegations of misrepresentation and suitability pertaining to the customer’s investments in (1) mutual funds (2) corporate-debt products and (3) non-traded…

David Richard Geake of Northbrook, Illinois, a stockbroker associated with Madison Avenue Securities, LLC, is the subject of a customer initiated investment related written complaint on August 9, 2017, in which the customer requested $200,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Geake effected fixed indexed annuities, equipment leasing products, business development companies and real estate…

Jonathan Todd Pyne of Minneapolis, Minnesota, a stockbroker currently registered with Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related written complaint on July 6, 2017, in which the customer requested more than $5,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Pyne misled the customer by inducing the customer’s…

Brad C. Lawing of Springfield, Missouri, a stockbroker formerly registered with Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., has been fined $10,000.00 and suspended for five months from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity by consenting to findings that Lawing, inter alia, effected unsuitable business development company transactions in customers’ investment accounts. Letter…

Bruce A. Lefavi Securities, Inc., a brokerage firm headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, has been censured and fined $25,000.00 by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) based upon consenting to findings that the firm failed to supervise customer transactions and violated FINRA’s content standards. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent, No. 2015043353301 (Nov. 10, 2017)….

Susan Lavon Welo, of Mayville, North Dakota, a stockbroker formerly registered with Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, has been named in a customer initiated investment related written complaint on February 24, 2017, in which the customer requested $45,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Welo failed to abide by the customer’s instructions to invest in short…

The Guiliano Law Group, P.C. is investigating claims against securities broker-dealers in connection with the sale and recommendation of Business Development Companies or BDCs. Citing the “high commissions and fees,” the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or FINRA claims that “many of the firms that distributed nontraded REITs are now turning to nontraded BDCs,”  BDCs arre frought…

James E. Scott, a registered representative with FSC Securities Corp., was permanently barred from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in any and all capacities via terms of an Order Accepting Offer of Settlement containing allegations that Scott had aided and abetted an individual in the sale and recommendation of certain unauthorized securities transactions,…

J.P. Turner & Co, recently acquired by Cetera, has over 360 registered representatives and over 150 branch offices nationwide. J.P. Turner’s history with securities regulators is substantial. For example, in December 2013, J.P. Turner consented to a sanction consisting of a censure and restitution in the amount of almost $1 million for the failure to…