Cary Joel Cowan Sr., of Saint Augustine, Florida, a stockbroker registered with Next Financial Group Inc., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related complaint filed on October 30, 2023. The customer requested compensatory damages based on allegations that Cowan did not identify excess annual withdrawals, leading to an unexpected reduction of guaranteed benefit…

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…

Charles Lawrence Doraine of Corpus Christi, Texas, a stockbroker registered with Next Financial Group Inc., was the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim that was settled for $352,564.00 in damages based upon allegations that Doraine made unsuitable recommendations of variable annuities and mutual funds during the time that Doraine was…

Steven S. Maher Sr. of Oradell, New Jersey, a stockbroker registered with Next Financial Group Inc., was the subject of a customer initiated investment related civil action that was settled for $20,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Maher breached a contract, made misrepresentations, was negligent, and breached his fiduciary duties in connection with the …

Dirk David Rabenold (also known as Dirk David Raenold), of Williamsville, New York, a stockbroker registered with Next Financial Group Inc., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) securities arbitration claim seeking damages resulting from the fraudulent conversion of customer funds by a third party. FINRA Arbitration No….

Brian Radoo of North Woodmere, New York, a stockbroker formerly registered with Next Financial Group Inc., is referenced in a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim in which the customer sought $76,000.00 in damages based upon accusations that the customer was provided bad advice by Radoo regarding purchases of non-traded real estate investment…

Charles Chester Kulch of Nashua, New Hampshire, a stockbroker formerly registered with Next Financial Group Inc., has been barred by Massachusetts Securities Division from being a stockbroker supported by allegations of Kulch making unsuitable recommendations to customers on variable annuities and non-traded real estate investment trusts. In the Matter of Charles C. Kulch Docket No….

NEXT Financial Group a securities broker dealer headquartered in Houston Texas has been censured and fined $750,000.00 by Financial industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) founded on findings that NEXT Financial Group failed to supervise its stockbrokers’ transactions resulting in unsuitable municipal bond and mutual fund transactions in customer accounts. Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent No….

Charles Chester Kulch of Nashua New Hampshire a stockbroker formerly registered with NEXT Financial Group Inc. has been charged by Massachusetts Securities Division with violating Massachusetts laws founded on accusations that he sold risky, illiquid and unsuitable non-traded REITs to customers and had overconcentrated their accounts in those products. In the Matter of Charles C….

Brian Radoo of North Woodmere New York a stockbroker formerly registered with Next Financial Group has been barred from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity supported by findings that Radoo failed to comply with FINRA when he was under investigation for possibly engaging in outside business activities. Letter of…

Jerry Dewayne McCutchen Sr. of Mobile Alabama a stockbroker formerly associated with Berthel Fisher Company Financial Services and NEXT Financial Group has been referenced in a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim in which the customer requested $168,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that misrepresentations and omissions had been made to the customer concerning equipment…

Charles Lawrence Doraine of Corpus Christi Texas a stockbroker formerly registered with NEXT Financial Group Inc. has been barred from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity based upon findings that Doraine neglected to cooperate with the regulator during the course of an investigation into his allegedly unsuitable investment advice….

Steven S. Maher Sr.of Oradell New Jersey a stockbroker formerly registered with Next Financial Group has been fined $10,000.00 and suspended for two months from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity based upon findings of Maher causing customers to provide him with signed but otherwise incomplete disclosure forms relating…

Douglas Keith Hyer (also known as Doug Hyer) of Great Neck New York a stockbroker currently associated with First Allied Securities Inc. and NEXT Financial Group Inc. has been referenced in a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim which has been settled for $15,000.00 in damages supported by allegations that (1) purchases of real estate…

Charles Lawrence Doraine of Corpus Christi Texas a stockbroker formerly registered with Next Financial Group Inc. is referenced in a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim in which the customer sought $500,000.00 in damages founded on accusations that between 2012 to 2018: (1) the customer’s diminished capacity had been exploited by the stockbroker (2) mutual…

Harold Mandell (also known as Hal Mandell) of San Antonio Texas a stockbroker formerly registered with Next Financial Group Inc. is the subject of a customer initiated investment related written complaint which was settled for $17,500.00 on June 20, 2019 based upon allegations that (1) Mandell executed speculative and aggressive trades in the customer’s account…

Stephen Joe Williams of Madison Alabama a stockbroker currently registered with Next Financial Group is the subject of a customer initiated investment related written complaint which was resolved for $24,000.00 on November 2, 2018 supported by accusations that the customer was sold illiquid and inappropriate real estate securities that have since become worthless. Financial Industry…

Charles Chester Kulch of Nashua New Hampshire a stockbroker currently employed by Next Financial Group Inc. is the subject of a customer initiated investment related written complaint on August 11, 2017 in which the customer requested $150,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that the customer was inappropriately advised by Kulch in regard to real estate…

Steven Elliott Zerbarini of Safety Harbor Florida a stockbroker formerly employed by Next Financial Group Inc. has been fined $5,000.00 and suspended from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity based uponconsenting to findings that Zerbarini executed transactions in Next Financial Group Inc. customers’ accounts without the customers having provided…

Charles Lawrence Doraine of Corpus Christi, Texas, a stockbroker currently registered with Next Financial Group, Inc., is referenced in a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim where the customer sought $2,500,000.00 in damages founded on allegations that between 2012 and 2017, Doraine engaged in a pattern of in-and-out trading with respect to the customer’s mutual…

Mark Lee Tevebaugh of Indian Harbour Beach Florida a stockbroker currently employed by Next Financial Group Inc. is the subject of a customer initiated investment related written complaint on February 6, 2018 where the customer sought $110,000.00 in damages based upon accusations that Tevebaugh effected a real estate investment trust transaction in the customer’s account…

Arshad Hussain of Jasper Alabama a stockbroker formerly employed by Next Financial Group Inc. has been discharged by the firm on March 14, 2018 based upon allegations that Hussain (1) effected short-term trades of investments that were designed for long-term investors and (2) misstated account applications and disclosure forms in order to conceal the customers’…

Gautam B. Bose of Bethesda Maryland is a stockbroker formerly registered with Next Financial Group Inc. who is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitraton claim that settled for $44,000.00 in damages supported by allegations that Bose omitted information concerning the risks and features of a variable annuity and real estate investment trust…

Louise Marie Cole of Toms River New Jersey is a stockbroker formerly registered with Next Financial Group Inc. who is the subject of a customer initiated investment related civil action that settled on October 19, 2016 for $100,000.00 in damages supported by accusations that Cole made unsuitable investment recommendations to the customer concerning an international…

Stephen Joe Williams of Madison, Alabama, a stockbroker currently registered with NEXT Financial Group, Inc., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim, in which the customer requested $50,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Williams effected unsuitable real estate investment trust transactions in the customer’s account. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)…

JoeAnn M. Walker, of Brockton, Massachusetts, a stockbroker formerly registered with Next Financial Group, Inc., has been barred from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity by consenting to findings that she obstructed a FINRA investigation into allegations that she effected unsuitable annuity sales. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent,…

Next Financial Group, Inc., a brokerage firm headquartered in Houston, Texas, has been censured and fined $750,000.00 by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity based upon consenting to findings that the firm failed to create an adequate system to supervise consolidated reports, failed to create written supervisory procedures pertaining to multiple share…

Dion Rey Padilla of San Antonio, Texas, a stockbroker formerly registered with Next Financial Group, Inc., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim on July 18, 2017, in which the customer sought $900,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that a variable annuity was sold to the customer, in which the terms…

Joseph Leigh Cotter, of Charlotte, North Carolina, a stockbroker with Next Financial Group, Inc., has been fined $15,000.00, disgorged of $100,549.42 in commissions, and suspended for nine months from having any association with a FINRA member by consenting to findings that he effected transactions in an investor’s accounts on an unsuitable and excessive basis. Letter…

Dion R. Padilla, of San Antonio, Texas, a stockbroker with Next Financial Group, Inc., was fined $10,000.00 and suspended for fifteen months from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity based upon an Office of Hearing Officers’ Order Accepting Offer of Settlement containing findings that Padilla made an unauthorized variable…

Eduardo Guillermo Diaz, of Biloxi, Mississippi, a former stockbroker formerly  registered with Next Financial Group, Inc., has been subject to a customer initiated investment related arbitration action in which the customer received $250,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Diaz made misrepresentations to the customer concerning investments, failed to provide the customer with information concerning…

George William Cole, of Toms River, New Jersey, a stockbroker currently registered with Next Financial Group, has been named in a customer initiated, investment related arbitration claim in which the customer requested $1,000,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Cole provided customers with unsuitable investment recommendations which caused the customers to suffer substantial losses. The…

Charles C. Kulch, of Nashua, New Hampshire, a stockbroker with Next Financial Group, recently disclosed that he settled a customer dispute for $120,000.00 on June 22, 2016, based upon allegations that Kulch mismanaged the customer’s securities account. FINRA BrokerCheck reveals that Kulch has been subject to seven other customer disputes. Particularly, on April 21, 2015,…

Tye C. Williams, of Frisco, Texas, a stockbroker with Next Financial Group, Inc., was permanently barred from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm any capacity after he consented to findings that he obstructed an investigation into allegations that Williams converted funds from customers, effected transactions in customer accounts which were unauthorized,…

Joseph L. Cotter, of Wall, New Jersey, a stockbroker formerly with Next Financial Group, Inc., is subject to a pending customer dispute from June 22, 2016, in which a customer has requested $625,000.00 in damages in connection with allegations against Cotter of mismanaging the customer’s brokerage assets. Public Disclosure records also reveal that on March…

The Guiliano Law Group, P.C.  has filed a securities arbitration claim before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or FINRA, against Next Financial Group, Inc., in connection with the sale of unregistered securities, by its former registered representative, Douglas P. Simanski in violation of the federal securities laws and the Pennsylvania Securities Act of 1972,  and…

Douglas Simanski, of Altoona, Pennsylvania, a registered representative with NEXT Financial Group, Inc., was permanently barred from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm after consenting to findings that he failed to cooperate in a FINRA investigation into allegations that he converted customer funds. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent, No. 2016049621301…

Dion R. Padilla, of San Antonio, Texas, a stockbroker with Next Financial Group, Inc., was charged by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Department of Enforcement in a Complaint alleging that that Padilla engaged in willful securities fraud and effected an unauthorized annuity purchase. Department of Enforcement v. Padilla, No. 2014040362001 (June 9, 2016). According to…

Gwendolyn M. Berry, an employee with Next Financial Group, Inc., was permanently barred from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm in any capacity after consenting to findings that she failed to cooperate with a FINRA investigation into allegations that she misappropriated customer assets. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent, No. 2015047059701…

Key Investment Services, LLC, Next Financial Group, Inc., Stephens Inc., Bankers & Investors Co., and J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons LLC were all recently censured and fined by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for failing to apply sales charge discounts to certain customers’ eligible purchases of unit investment trusts (“UITs”) in violation of FINRA Rule 2010;…

Betsy Marcom of Georgetown, Texas, a Stockbroker with Next Financial Group, Inc. was fined $15,000 and suspended for four months from association with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm after consenting to findings that she made unsuitable investment recommendations to her client, HTCC, a non-profit parish church. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent,…

Clyde M. Thornburg, a former stockbroker with NEXT Financial Group Inc., was charged earlier this month with unsuitable short-term trading and switching in the accounts of elderly and unsophisticated investors. The FINRA Complaint On Feb. 9, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) filed a complaint against Thornburg, a Florida-based registered representative with NEXT. The affected…