There is an old adage that says, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” Don’t tell that to the thousands of investment advisers who switched from SEC regulation to state regulation. The Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act allowed investment advisers with assets under management between $30 million and $100 […]
Cockroaching – New Trend in Investment Fraud Cases
“Cockroaching” – I must admit until I picked up today’s Wall Street Journal, I wasn’t familiar with term. Although the term was new to me, the underlying practice is unfortunately well known in the world of investment fraud lawyers. Cockroaching refers to the practice of stockbrokers jumping from one troubled brokerage firm to another. The […]
LPL Broker Charged With Securities Fraud
Less than 24 hours ago we wrote a story about securities fraud and the need for brokerage firms to protect clients against advisers who rip off clients by “selling away.” Today the SEC announced it charged a former LPL Financial stockbroker, Blake Richards, with securities fraud after accusing him of stealing $2 million in client […]
FINRA Attacks New Type Of Securities Fraud
Securities fraud costs investors billions of dollars annually. Sometimes the promoter is the fraudster (think Bernie Madoff) and other times it is the stockbroker trying to make a quick buck. This week the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority – FINRA – levied a whopping $7.5 million fine against LPL securities for email violations. Email violations? Thats […]
John Thomas Financial Under Watch – Again! (Stockbroker Fraud Post)
by Brian Mahany From the outside, John Thomas Financial appears to be a pretty respectable place. It’s main office is located at 14 Wall Street, a high rent building across the street from the New York Stock Exchange. It’s president, Anastasios “Tommy” Belesis, has been seen with former New York Mayor (and U.S. Attorney) Rudolph Guiliani. There […]
December 11th, A Date That Will Live In Infamy – Investment Fraud Blog Post
by Brian Mahany History buffs will remember President Roosevelt’s famous speech after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He started that speech by saying, “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a date that will in infamy…” He went on to inform a shocked nation about the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. A little more recently, December 11th has […]
Woman in Her 80's Wins $880,000 from Merrill Lynch
by Brian Mahany Everyone loves a good David versus Goliath story, especially where the winner is a woman in her 80’s and the villain is a Wall Street giant. Harriet Baker and her son won $880,000 against Merrill Lynch for mismanaging her brokerage account. The sad news is that she died the day the award […]