Stockbroker Fraud Investigation
Stockbrokers have a legal responsibility to uphold their fiduciary duty to clients and to make their investing interests a priority at all times. This includes providing accurate and truthful disclosures about investments and financial products that are recommended to investors.
A breach of fiduciary duty occurs when a stock broker places his or her own interests ahead of a client’s. When this happens, a form of stockbroker fraud or misconduct may have taken place. Examples of stockbroker fraud include a broker who knowingly recommends certain investments that are unsuitable for clients; selling an unregistered security; and over-concentrating an investor’s account in a single stock or sector.
As the number of arbitration claims filed with FINRA continues to outpace previous years, so too does the frequency of claims involving breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation, stockbroker fraud, negligence, and breach of contract.
Maddox Hargett & Caruso is committed to educating investors. This includes providing in-depth information via this Web site about unscrupulous stockbrokers and/or financial advisors who have been cited by FINRA and other regulatory agencies. If your broker is listed here or if you have suffered investment losses because of stockbroker misrepresentation, negligence, careless investment advice, churning, or other acts of securities fraud, contact us today. Our lawyers will evaluate your situation to determine if you have a viable case for recovery.
Some of the brokers and financial advisors who are currently facing allegations of stockbroker fraud or misconduct are listed here. This list is by no means complete, and we will continue to update it.
- Christopher Bass, former employer: Swiss Capital Harbor
- David McFadden, former employer: Securities America
- Dermot A. Graham, former employer: PFS Investments
- Eric Butler, former employer: Credit Suisse Group
- Harold. H. Jaschke, former employer: First Allied Securities
- Jeremy McGilvrey, former employer: Next Financial Group
- Julius Everett “Bud” Johnson, Virginia insurance agent
- Kapil Shashikant Shah, former employer: GunnAllen Financial
- Kelvin Koma, former employer: JP Morgan Chase
- Ken Lewis, former employer: Bank of America
- Kevin O'Brien, former employer: Robert W. Baird & Company
- Mark Islas, former employer: Woodbury Financial
- Mark Salyer, former employer: MetLife Securities
- Martin T. Wegener, former employer: New England Securities
- Mayra Jeanette Angulo, former employer: Woodbury Financial
- Oren Eugene Sullivan, former employer: New York Life
- Robyn Lynn O'Hara, former employer: WFG Investments
- Rhonda Breard, owner of: Breard & Associates and Wealth Management
- Ronald Dwayne James, former employer: TD Ameritrade
- Thomas J. O'Neill, former employer: Piper Jaffray
- Timothy Shively, former employer: Next Financial
- Walter Ray Reinhardt, Virginia insurance agent
- William J. Gray, former employer: AXA Advisors LLC
- William Harrison and Eddie Sawyers, former employer: Wachovia
This list is by no means complete, and we will be adding to it in the days and weeks ahead. We encourage you to check back frequently for updates.
In many cases involving stockbroker fraud, victims are able to recover their investment losses by filing an individual arbitration claim with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against the broker or financial representative who committed the illegal action and/or the brokerage firm where that individual was employed at the time the alleged violations occurred.
Stockbrokers are bound by federal and state laws to uphold a fiduciary duty to their clients. This fiduciary duty means a stockbroker bears a responsibility to place the investing interests of clients before his own and to provide full disclosure about the investments and financial products that he recommends.
When these obligations are breached, a form of stockbroker fraud or misconduct may have taken place. Examples of stockbroker fraud include a broker who knowingly recommends certain investments that are unsuitable for clients; selling an unregistered security; and over-concentrating an investor's account in a single stock or sector.
As the number of arbitration claims filed with FINRA continues to outpace previous years, so too does the frequency of claims involving breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation, stockbroker fraud, negligence, and breach of contract.
Maddox Hargett & Caruso, P.C. is committed to investor education. This is why we are providing in-depth information on this Web site about unscrupulous stockbrokers and financial advisors who have been cited by FINRA and/or other regulatory agencies. If your broker is listed here or if you have suffered investment losses because of stockbroker misrepresentation, negligence, careless investment advice, churning, or other acts of securities fraud, contact us today. Our lawyers will evaluate your situation to determine if you have a viable case for recovery.