Mark Fred Augusta (also known as Mark Fredrick Augusta), of Cardiff, California, a stockbroker registered with Hilltop Securities Inc., was the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim that was settled for $24,999.00 in damages based upon allegations that Augusta engaged in unauthorized trading and made unsuitable investment recommendations when Augusta…

Michael Joseph Kane III off Plano, Texas, a stockbroker registered with Hilltop Securities Inc., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim in which the customer requested $135,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Kane made unsuitable recommendations and made misrepresentations and omissions of material fact in connection with the…

Justin Walt Parker of Del Mar, California, a stockbroker registered with Hilltop Securities Inc. is the subject of a customer initiated investment related complaint on March 18, 2021, where the customer requested $280,000.00 in damages based upon accusations that Parker made unsuitable recommendations in connection with the sale of municipal bonds when Parker was associated…

Adam Ray Melville of Sherman Oaks, California, a stockbroker currently registered with Hilltop Securities Inc., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related written complaint on February 13, 2020, in which the customer requested $35,000.00 in damages because Melville allegedly made unauthorized trades involving municipal bonds during the time that he was associated with…

Charles Scott Burford (also known as Scott Burford), a stockbroker formerly registered with Hilltop Securities Independent Network Inc., has been fined $10,000.00 and suspended for six months from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member according to a FINRA Office of Hearing Officers’ Hearing Panel Decision containing findings of Burford’s unauthorized transactions in…

Dennis Phillip Ayre, of Beverly Hills, California, a stockbroker formerly registered with Hilltop Securities Inc., has been barred from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity supported by findings that he refused to testify in FINRA’s investigation regarding accusations of Ayre’s unsuitable recommendations to customers. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and…

Mark Katz, of San Diego, California, a stockbroker formerly registered with Hilltop Securities Inc., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related written complaint on February 18, 2020, where the customer sought $357,000.00 in damages supported by accusations of breach of fiduciary duty and misrepresentation by Katz concerning the customer’s investments at Hilltop Securities….

Walter Roland Valenzuela, of San Diego, California, a stockbroker formerly registered with Hilltop Securities Inc., is referenced in a customer initiated investment related written complaint on June 21, 2021, where the customer sought $15,334.00 in damages founded on accusations of misrepresentation relating to the liquidity of the customer’s investment in Bluerock Inc. Interval Fund during the…

Charles Scott Burford (also known as Scott Burford) of Dallas Texas a stockbroker formerly registered with Hilltop Securities Independent Network Inc. (now known as Momentum Independent Network Inc.) has been charged by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Department of Enforcement with making unauthorized trades in a customer’s account when he was employed by Hilltop Securities….

Mark Frederick Augusta (also known as Mark Fred Augusta) a stockbroker registered with Wedbush Securities Inc. and Hilltop Securities Inc. is the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim in which the customer sought $250,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Augusta made misrepresentations to the customer regarding structured products and…

Kyle Robert Franklin of Cameron Park California a stockbroker formerly registered with First Allied Securities is referenced in a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim in which the customer requested compensatory damages based upon accusations of negligence and breach of contract as it pertained to real estate investment trusts and variable annuities purchased…

Mark Katz of San Diego California a stockbroker formerly associated with Hilltop Securities Inc. has been referenced in a customer initiated investment related complaint on February 18, 2020 in which the customer requested $357,000.00 in damages supported by allegations of unauthorized and excessive trading in the customer’s account by Katz which caused the Hilltop Securities…

Dennis Robberecht (also known as Dennis Robreck and as Dennis Robbercht) of Roseville California a stockbroker currently associated with Hilltop Securities Inc. has been referenced in a customer initiated investment related written complaint on January 13, 2020 in which the customer requested $46,000.00 in damages supported by allegations that misrepresentations had been made about securities…

Walter Roland Valenzuela of Del Mar California a stockbroker currently registered with Hilltop Securities Inc. is referenced in a customer initiated investment related complaint which was settled on November 1, 2018 for $100,000.00 in damages founded on accusations that (1) unit investment trust trades were made in the customer’s account on an excessive basis (2)…

Richard Earl Cagle of Corpus Christi Texas a stockbroker formerly employed by Hilltop Securities Independent Network Inc. has been barred from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity founded on findings that Cagle hindered a FINRA investigation concerning (1) Cagle possibly making bad investment recommendations to customers of Hilltop Securities…

Kyle Robert Franklin of Roseville California a stockbroker currently registered with Hilltop Securities Inc. is referenced in a customer initiated investment related written complaint on April 10, 2018 in which the customer sought at least $5,000.00 in damages supported by allegations that the customer was inappropriately advised to reallocate variable annuity positions, resulting in the…

Philip Hearl Hamilton of Arlington Texas a stockbroker employed by Hilltop Securities Independent Network Inc. has been discharged by the firm on March 13, 2018 supported by allegations that Hamilton violated the firm’s policies by effecting trades in a customer’s account that was deceased. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Public Disclosure confirms that on August…

Walter Roland Valenzuela, of Del Mar, California, a stockbroker currently registered with Hilltop Securities, Inc., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim, where the customer requested $9,500,000.00 in damages supported by allegations of elder abuse, misrepresentation, excessive trading, breach of fiduciary duty, excessive mark-downs and mark-ups, inappropriate margin use, suitability, and…

Mark Fred Augusta, of Solana Beach, California, a stockbroker formerly registered with Wedbush Securities Inc., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim, in which the customer was awarded 250,000.00 in compensatory damages, $1,080,000.00 in punitive damages, and $110,000.00 in disgorged commissions on July 13, 2017, supported by allegations against Augusta and…

Donald Allen Kartoon, of Beverly Hills, California, a stockbroker formerly registered with Morgan Stanley, is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim, where the customer was awarded $4,000.00 in damages on April 6, 2017, based upon allegations that Kartoon failed to abide by the customer’s instructions to sell the customer’s position in…

Hilltop Securities Independent Network, a broker-dealer located in Dallas, Texas, was censured and fined $40,000.00 by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) based upon the firm’s consent to findings that it failed to supervise the activities of a registered representative who made investment recommendations that were not suitable for customers, and failed to create and implement…

Douglas Lee Hodges, a stockbroker currently registered with Hilltop Securities Inc. and Hilltop Securities Independent Network Inc., has been subject of investigation conducted by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) into allegations that from April of 2012 to March of 2014, Hodges failed to supervise a registered representative’s activities involving unit investment trust and mutual fund…