Thomas Buck – Financial Advisor/Broker Barred by FINRA | Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A. May Recover Investor Losses
Thomas Buck a/k/a Thomas Joseph Buck CRD#1024868
From 1981 until Thomas Buck’s firing in 2015, Thomas Buck was licensed with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated. Thomas Buck was subsequently licensed with RBC Capital Markets, LLC. According to FINRA’s records, Buck was fired by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated on March 4, 2015. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated reported to FINRA that Thomas Buck’s firing related to allegations including failing to discuss service level and pricing alternatives with a customer, providing inaccurate information to Firm management during account reviews regarding this issue, mismarking bond cross trade order tickets as unsolicited, and providing information to a client during an active account review that did not correspond to the Firm’s records.
Subsequent to Thomas Buck’s firing by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, FINRA investigated Thomas Buck and brought a disciplinary action against Thomas Buck. Thomas Buck was barred from the securities and investment banking industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on July 24, 2015. FINRA reports that Thomas Buck consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that Thomas Buck willfully committed fraud in violation of section 10(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and rule 10B-5 thereunder. The findings stated that Thomas Buck not only failed to fully assess the suitability of the fee structure for certain clients, but decided to use commission-based accounts when Thomas Buck knew that it would have been less expensive for those clients to maintain fee-based accounts, in some instances, clients paid substantially more in commissions than they would have paid in fee-based accounts.
During this same time period, FINRA reports that Thomas Buck also misled clients about the potential advantages of using fee-based accounts in order to keep the clients in higher-cost commission-based accounts. The findings also stated that Thomas Buck at times made unauthorized trades and exercised discretion in certain customer accounts without written authorization from the customers or Thomas Buck’s firm.
FINRA also reports that the SEC has initiated a pending civil court action and seeks an injunction in connection with these allegations against Thomas Buck.
FINRA reports that 34 complaints were filed involving Thomas Buck’s conduct with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, alleging excessive trading, unauthorized trading, unsuitable investments, misrepresentation and omission of material facts and/or other allegations. These complaints all settled, with the largest settling for $719,014.00, $600,000, $565,000, $430,000, $400,000, $395,338.78, $300,000 and $275,000.
If you lost any money on investments with Thomas Buck, you may be able to recover your losses from Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and/or RBC Capital Markets, LLC. This is because Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and/or RBC Capital Markets, LLC had a duty to supervise Thomas Buck.
If you lost money on investments with Thomas Buck and believe the investments may have been unsuitable or otherwise improper for you, we would like to discuss the possibility of your retaining our firm to represent you in an arbitration action against Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and/or RBC Capital Markets, LLC concerning Thomas Buck’s conduct. There is no charge for an evaluation of your case. Further, we handle our cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that unless we recover money for you, we charge no attorney’s fee. Unless you recover any money, you pay us nothing, not even the costs and expenses which the firm will advance on your behalf.
Kalju Nekvasil, Esq., formerly regional counsel with the NASD, now known as FINRA, has practiced in this area of the law for more than 35 years. Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A. has recovered more than $200 million on behalf of victimized investors. If you lost money on investments with Thomas Buck and would like your case evaluated by a securities attorney (again, there is no charge for an evaluation and all cases are handled on a purely contingency fee basis), please contact us.