Securities Fraud Attorney | Investment Fraud Lawyers, Attorneys, Law Firm - GOODMAN & NEKVASIL, P.A

Brandstaetter, Peter Joseph

gnlaw — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:29:01 +0000

Peter Joseph Brandstaetter (CRD # 3206399, Registered Representative, Chicago, Illinois) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $20,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for 10 business days. Without admitting or denying the findings, Brandstaetter consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that he created and distributed illustrations that promoted an options trading strategy to members of the public that contained numerous false, exaggerated, unwarranted or misleading claims and statements. The findings stated that at the time that Brandstaetter sent the illustrations to one of the customers, she had not completed an options trading agreement with Brandstaetter’s member firm and she had not been furnished with an options disclosure document prior to (or contemporaneous with) the receipt of the illustrations. The findings also stated that Brandstaetter did not seek or receive approval of the documents from his firm’s options principal prior to the dissemination of the materials. The findings also included that Brandstaetter exercised discretion in a customer’s account without her written permission or the firm’s approval, although he was aware that his firm’s written supervisory procedures prohibit discretionary trading within customer accounts.
The suspension was in effect from December 20, 2010, through January 3, 2011.

We take cases on a purely contingency fee basis against brokerage firms who employ brokers committing misconduct of this nature. Please contact us for a free evaluation.

Zhao, Connie Hong Tao

gnlaw — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:57:24 +0000

Connie Hong Tao Zhao (CRD # 4592497, Registered Representative, Fresh Meadows, New York) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which she was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Zhao consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that she sold life insurance policies through her firm’s life insurance affiliate. The findings stated that Zhao converted the funds of one of her insurance customers, without the customer’s authorization or knowledge, by changing the frequency of payments on the policy from annual to quarterly, making a quarterly payment, and converting the remainder of the customer’s funds, which had been paid in full as an annual premium amount. The findings also stated that the policy lapsed for nonpayment, and after the customer’s relative complained to Zhao’s firm, she had the policy reinstated by completing and sending a reinstatement application along with a $5,000 payment towards the premium; the customer was unaware that Zhao had reinstated the policy and did not sign the documents necessary to have the policy reinstated. The findings also included that Zhao improperly used an address that she maintained as the address of record for the customer’s insurance policy, as well as, for other insurance policies, contrary to her firm’s policy.

We take cases on a purely contingency fee basis against brokerage firms who employ brokers committing misconduct of this nature. Please contact us for a free evaluation.

Zamecki, Robert John

gnlaw — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:54:04 +0000

Robert John Zamecki (CRD # 475757, Registered Principal, Carmel, California) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $12,500 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any principal capacity for 30 business days. Without admitting or denying the findings, Zamecki consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that he was the registered principal at his member firm responsible for reviewing and approving the firm’s registered representatives’ private securities transactions and outside business activities. The findings stated that Zamecki failed to supervise a registered representative’s private securities transactions. The findings also stated that the registered representative disclosed his outside business sales of secured real estate notes to the firm and discussed them with Zamecki, at which time the representative stated that attorneys for the note issuer had determined that the notes were not securities; in reality, the notes were securities. The findings also included that Zamecki allowed the registered representative to continue selling the notes without inquiring further into the matter and thereby failed to enforce the firm’s written supervisory procedures.
FINRA found that the representative made numerous sales of the notes to various investors, and Zamecki did not review, approve or otherwise supervise these sales. FINRA also found that the representative completed an Outside Business Questionnaire in which he disclosed his sales of the notes; after reviewing the form, Zamecki questioned the representative in detail about the nature of the notes, determined that the notes could be securities and prohibited the representative from engaging in any further sales of the notes.
The suspension is in effect from January 3, 2011, through February 14, 2011.

We take cases on a purely contingency fee basis against brokerage firms who employ brokers committing misconduct of this nature. Please contact us for a free evaluation.

Yamanaka, Marilyn Louise

gnlaw — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:50:30 +0000

Marilyn Louise Yamanaka (CRD # 2650202, Registered Representative, Clovis, California) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which she was fined $5,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for eight months. In light of Yamanaka’s financial status, a $5,000 fine was imposed. The fine must be paid either immediately upon Yamanaka’s reassociation with a FINRA member firm following her suspension, or prior to the filing of any application or request for relief from any statutory disqualification, whichever is earlier. Without admitting or denying the findings, Yamanaka consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that she participated in the sales of Universal Lease Programs (ULPs) totaling $408,273.39 to members of the public without providing her member firm with written notice about the sales, and failed to obtain her firm’s written approval. The findings stated that Yamanaka received approximately $43,760 in commissions from her sales of the ULPs. The findings also stated that Yamanaka submitted documentation related to the ULPs to her firm and was told that the ULPs were not approved for sale. The findings also included that Yamanaka signed declarations in which she confirmed she had discussed the firm’s regulatory requirements with her supervisory principal; in these declarations, Yamanaka stated she had not offered or sold securities except those her firm offered and approved, had not engaged in any outside business activity which involved private securities transactions or private placements of securities, unless the firm approved them in advance, and informed her firm of all outside business activities for which she directly or indirectly received compensation. FINRA found that all of these statements were false.
The suspension is in effect from November 15, 2010, through July 14, 2011.

We take cases on a purely contingency fee basis against brokerage firms who employ brokers committing misconduct of this nature. Please contact us for a free evaluation.

Wrigley, Andrew Thomas

gnlaw — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:47:45 +0000

Andrew Thomas Wrigley (CRD # 4820238, Registered Representative, Fair Haven, New Jersey) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $5,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for one month. Without admitting or denying the findings, Wrigley consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that certain states implemented an LTC CE requirement that obligated financial advisors to complete an LTC CE course and exam before selling LTC insurance products. The findings stated that in order to assist financial advisors with the LTC CE requirement, Wrigley provided them with vouchers to take CE exams for free through a company. The findings also stated that Wrigley requested, received and distributed an answer key for one of the state exams to an outside financial advisor, and asked another member firm representative to request, receive and distribute an answer key for the state exam to an outside financial advisor.
The suspension was in effect from December 6, 2010, through January 5, 2011.

We take cases on a purely contingency fee basis against brokerage firms who employ brokers committing misconduct of this nature. Please contact us for a free evaluation.

Usmani, Mahmood Hasan

gnlaw — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:44:15 +0000

Mahmood Hasan Usmani, (CRD # 5727193, Associated Person, Bartlett, Tennessee) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity and ordered to disgorge $24,286.67 in unlawful profits. Without admitting or denying the findings, Usmani consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that by purchasing an issuer’s stock while in knowing possession of material, non-public information, directly or indirectly, by use of means or instrumentalities of interstate commerce, he intentionally or recklessly employed a device, scheme or artifice to defraud or engaged in an act, practice or course of business which operated, or would operate, as a fraud or deceit in connection with the purchase or sale of a security. The findings stated that prior to the public announcement of the tender offer for a security and after a substantial step or steps to commence the tender offer had been taken, Usmani purchased the issuer’s securities while in possession of material information relating to the offer, which he knew or had reason to know was non-public and had been acquired directly or indirectly from a person acting on the offering person’s behalf; the issuer of the securities sought or to be sought by the tender offer; or an officer, director, partner, employee, or other person acting on the offering person’s or such an issuer’s behalf. The findings also stated that Usmani failed to notify his member firm, in writing, of the existence of his personal securities accounts, in which he had a financial interest and maintained at another FINRA member firm, and failed to notify the other member firm, in writing, of his association with his member firm. The findings also included that Usmani failed to respond to FINRA requests for information and documents.

We take cases on a purely contingency fee basis against brokerage firms who employ brokers committing misconduct of this nature. Please contact us for a free evaluation.

Trolaro, Daniel J.

gnlaw — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:39:37 +0000

Daniel J. Trolaro (CRD # 4260690, Registered Representative, Oakland, New Jersey) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Trolaro consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that he misappropriated approximately $1,533,000 from customers and, instead of reinvesting the funds on the customers’ behalf, he deposited the checks into his personal bank account and used the funds for his personal benefit. The findings stated that Trolaro persuaded customers to make personal loans to him, totaling $310,000 contrary to his member firm’s written procedures that specifically prohibited registered representatives from borrowing money from customers.

We take cases on a purely contingency fee basis against brokerage firms who employ brokers committing misconduct of this nature. Please contact us for a free evaluation.

Ta, Jenny Quyen

gnlaw — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:37:37 +0000

Jenny Quyen Ta (CRD # 2538602, Registered Principal, Westminster, California) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which she was fined $10,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for one year. The fine must be paid either immediately upon Ta’s reassociation with a FINRA member firm following her suspension, or prior to the filing of any application or request for relief from any statutory disqualification, whichever is earlier. Without admitting or denying the findings, Ta consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that she engaged in outside business activities and failed to give prompt written notice to her member firm. The findings stated that Ta failed to disclose that she had financial interests and/or discretionary authority in multiple brokerage accounts at other broker-dealers and failed to give her firm prompt written notice of these accounts; on account applications, she falsely indicated that she was not affiliated with a securities firm. The findings also stated that on a firm securities annual attestation form, Ta falsely stated that she did not have a personal securities account. The findings also included that Ta created websites which included representations about her career accomplishments but never obtained a registered firm principal’s approval for those sites.
FINRA found that among other things, one of the websites stated that Ta founded a full-service broker-dealer that was a FINRA member when, in fact, it was not; although that entity had a new member application pending with FINRA, it was not an actual broker-dealer and never became a FINRA member. FINRA also found that Ta failed to inform a registered firm principal that she had a Twitter account which, on occasion, she used to tout a particular stock. In addition, FINRA determined that Ta’s “tweets” were unbalanced, overwhelmingly positive and frequently predicted an imminent price rise, and Ta did not disclose that she and her family members held a substantial position in the stock.
The suspension is in effect from December 6, 2010, through December 5, 2011.

We take cases on a purely contingency fee basis against brokerage firms who employ brokers committing misconduct of this nature. Please contact us for a free evaluation.

Smith, Larrye Alfie

gnlaw — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:34:35 +0000

Larrye Alfie Smith (CRD # 1131839, Registered Principal, Miami, Florida) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was censured, fined $7,500 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for six months. The fine must be paid either immediately upon Smith’s reassociation with a FINRA member firm following his suspension, or prior to the filing of any application or request for relief from any statutory disqualification, whichever is earlier. Without admitting or denying the findings, Smith consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that he engaged in business activities for compensation outside the scope of his business relationship with his member firm without providing the firm with prompt written notice. The findings stated that Smith sold EIAs valued at $148,850 without notifying the firm. The findings also stated that Smith used a business card the firm had not approved, distributed a seminar invitation the firm had not approved and conducted a seminar of which the firm was unaware.
The suspension is in effect from December 6, 2010, through June 5, 2011.

We take cases on a purely contingency fee basis against brokerage firms who employ brokers committing misconduct of this nature. Please contact us for a free evaluation.

Pollock, Robert Charles

gnlaw — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:32:07 +0000

Robert Charles Pollock (CRD # 4490116, Registered Representative, Palm Harbor, Florida) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $94,650, which includes disgorgement of $34,650 in commissions, suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for one year, and ordered to pay $76,922, plus interest, in restitution to customers. The fine and restitution amounts must be paid either immediately upon Pollock’s reassociation with a FINRA member firm following his suspension, or prior to the filing of any application or request for relief from any statutory disqualification, whichever is earlier. Without admitting or denying the findings, Pollock consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that he sold to customers installment plan contracts offered by a non-profit corporation that represented itself to the public as a charitable organization, but Pollock lacked a reasonable basis to recommend the purchase of the contracts to his customers given his failure to perform a reasonable investigation concerning the product. The findings stated that while Pollock reviewed information on the non-profit corporation’s website and spoke to its personnel, he took their representations at face value and failed to independently verify those representations. The findings also stated that Pollock did not contact the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to confirm the tax-exempt status or the availability of a tax deduction to investors, and did not seek to understand how the non-profit corporation arrived at its figures regarding tax benefits; Pollock also misrepresented to his customers that they could take charitable tax deductions in connection with their respective investments, which was not true. The findings also included that in connection with the solicitation of these installment plan contracts, Pollock provided his customers with illustrations and other sales materials that contained misleading and incomplete information. FINRA found that Pollock failed to provide his member firm with written notice of his participation in the above-referenced transactions or receive its written approval to participate in those transactions, and he did not present the flow chart and 1099 Statement for review to a registered principal of his firm prior to using them in connection with the sales of the installment plan contracts.
The suspension is in effect from December 6, 2010, through December 5, 2011.

We take cases on a purely contingency fee basis against brokerage firms who employ brokers committing misconduct of this nature. Please contact us for a free evaluation.