FINRA Enforcement Actions – May, 2011

FINRA Private Placement and Variable Annuity Fraud and Mismanagement Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq.

May, 2011:

Brewer Financial Services, LLC (CRD® #132558, Chicago, Illinois), Adam Gary Erickson (CRD #3081286, Registered Principal, Chicago, Illinois) and Steven John Brewer (CRD #2214515, Associated Person, Chicago, Illinois) submitted a Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent in which the firm was expelled from FINRA membership and Erickson and Brewer were barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

May, 2011

FMSbonds, Inc. (CRD #7793, Boca Raton, Florida) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which the firm was censured, fined $45,000 and required to revise its WSPs regarding best execution of corporate debt securities. Read More.

May, 2011

Newbridge Securities Corporation (CRD #104065, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which the firm was censured and fined $25,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to establish, maintain and enforce a supervisory system and written procedures relating to private offerings the firm sold to its customers. The findings stated that the firm’s supervisory system and written procedures for private offerings were deficient; they did not identify due diligence steps to be taken for private offerings. Read More.

May, 2011

UVEST Financial Services Group, Inc. (CRD #13787, Charlotte, North Carolina) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which the firm was censured and fined $75,000. Read More.

May, 2011

Irving Louis Adler (CRD #3175612, Registered Representative, Braintree, Massachusetts) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

May, 2011

Scott Jeffrey Adler (CRD #3175603, Registered Representative, Sharon, Massachusetts) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $36,434, which includes disgorgement of $16,434 to be paid to the firm, and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for 12 months. Read More.

May, 2011

Steven John Argo (CRD #4418605, Registered Representative, Lockport, New York, formerly licensed with Thrivent Investment Management, Inc.) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

May, 2011

Carl Henry Blanchard (CRD #3175596, Registered Representative, West Roxbury, Massachusetts, formerly licensed with New England Securities) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $31,434, which includes disgorgement of $16,434 to be paid to the firm, and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for six months. Read More.

May, 2011

Charles Hyman Brown (CRD #858501, Registered Principal, Coconut Creek, Florida, currently licensed with Newbridge Securities Corporation) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $5,000and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any principal capacityfor 30 days. Read More.

May, 2011

Robin Fran Bush (CRD #1994431, Registered Principal, Coral Springs, Florida, formerly licensed with Newbridge Securities Corporation) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which she was fined $15,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any principal capacity for six months. Read More.

May, 2011

John Godfried Croes Jr. (CRD #2778261, Registered Representative, Davie, Florida, formerly licensed with Princor Financial Services Corporation) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $5,000 andsuspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for eight months. Read More.

May, 2011

John Matthew Dwyer III (CRD #2376954, Registered Representative, Atlanta, Georgia, formerly licensed with UBS Financial Services, Inc.) submitted an Offer of Settlement in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the allegations, Dwyer consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that he failed to respond to FINRA requests for information. (FINRA Case #2009020095001).

May, 2011

Christian Genitrini (CRD #3277581, Registered Representative, New York, New York, formerly licensed with MML Investors Services, Inc.) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $15,000, suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for two years, and required to requalify by exam for Series 7 and Series 63 before becoming re-associated with a member firm after the expiration of the suspension term. Read More.

May, 2011

Joshua Daniel Gould (CRD #4617397, Registered Representative, St. Louis, Missouri,formerly licensed with Woodbury Financial Services, Inc.) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

May, 2011

James Jerome Heffers Sr. (CRD #241577, Registered Representative, Kingston, Pennsylvania formerly licensed with Fortune Finan
cial Services, Inc.) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

May, 2011

William Thomas Hernandez (CRD #2815703, Registered Representative, Louisville, Kentucky, formerly licensed with PNC Investments) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

May, 2011

Michael Steven Jacobson (CRD #2042591, Registered Representative, Coral Springs, Florida, formerly licensed with Princor Financial Service Corporation and Met Life Securities) 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 18 months. Read More.

May, 2011

Cesar Madrigal (CRD #4572698, Registered Representative, Deer Park, Texas, formerly licensed with Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC.) was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

May, 2011

Marco Antonio Martin (CRD #3100944, Registered Representative, Toronto, Canada, formerly licensed with Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.) submitted an Offer of Settlement in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

May, 2011

Devon Coulin McLean (CRD #4072332, Registered Representative, Homestead, Florida, formerly licensed Questar Capital Corporation) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

May, 2011

Penena Karpel McRoberts (CRD #1909901, Registered Representative, Austin, Texas, formerly licensed with LPL Financial Corporation and Next Financial Group, Inc.) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which she was fined $20,000, which includes the disgorgement of commissions received of $9,600, and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for one year. Read More.

May, 2011

Jose Antonio Rivera (CRD #1822783, Registered Representative, Fort Myers, Florida, formerly licensed with Invest Financial Corporation and Morgan Stanely Smith Barney) 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 three months. Read More.

May, 2011

Ryan Seth Sackstein (CRD #4304667, Registered Representative, Hewlett, New York, formerly licensed with Investors Capital Corp.) was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

May, 2011

Nathan Mark Spiegel (CRD #4823748, Registered Representative, Ankeny, Iowa, formerly licensed with Edward Jones) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Read More.

May, 2011

Donald Barry Weidenfeld (CRD #1751232, Registered Principal, Del Ray Beach, Florida, currently licensed with Raymond James & Associates, Inc.) 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. Read More.

May, 2011 Complaint:

Bryan Lee Addington (CRD #2641975, Registered Representative, Ethel, Louisiana, formerly licensed with First Midwest Securities, Inc.) was named as a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that a customer instructed Addington to purchase shares of a common stock in his securities account at Addington’s member firm, and Addington instructed the customer to pay for the shares with a $34,019 check payable to an entity even though the check should have been made payable to Addington’s firm’s clearing firm. Read More.

May, 2011 – Complaint:

Timothy D. Camarillo (CRD #5205051, Registered Representative, San Antonio, Texas, formerly licensed with Planmember Services Corporation) was named as a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he entered into a contract with a company and sold approximately $370,000 worth of private securities to his customers, receiving over $13,000 in commissions without providing prior notice to, or receiving approval from, his member firm. Read More.

May, 2011 – Complaint:

Evan Taber (CRD #1892751, Registered Representative, Plantation, Florida, formerly licensed with Aura Financial Services, Inc.) was named as a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he initiated discussion with an individual regarding an investment with a guaranteed return, instructed the individual to issue a check to a company which was the name he had given to a personal bank account, and did not tell the individual that the funds would be used for personal and home office expenses. Read More.

May, 2011 – Complaint:

Andrew Joseph Longoria (CRD #2299271, Registered Representative, Hutto, Texas, formerly licensed with IMS Securities, Inc.) was named as a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that a customer opened an account with a mutual fund company through Longoria, and Longoria had the customer write a $12,000 check payable to an unregistered entity he owned and controlled. Read More.

May 27, 2011

FINRA charges David Lerner & Associates with soliciting investors to purchase REITs without fully investigating suitability and with marketing REITs on its website with misleading returns. Read More.