Securities Arbitration Lawyer Blog

How to Recover Puerto Rico Bond Losses From David Lerner Associates, Inc.

Published on: March 3, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

Numerous stockbrokers at David Lerner Associates Inc. (“David Lerner Associates”) recommended risky and speculative Puerto Rico municipal bonds to customers.

An investor may be able to recover financial losses if the recommendation was not suitable for the customer or if David Lerner misrepresented or omitted material facts about the bonds in connection with making the recommendation.

Iorio Altamirano LLP, a securities arbitration law firm based in New York, has recently filed an arbitration claim against David Lerner Associates, alleging that President and CEO Martin Walcoe and David Lerner unsuitably recommended that the customer purchase and hold Puerto Rico municipal bonds. The claim also alleges that Mr. Walcoe made material misrepresentations and omitted material facts concerning the risk and safety of the bonds. The recommendations occurred at a time when credit rating agencies were downgrading Puerto Rico municipal bonds and indicated that further credit downgrades were imminent. At the time of the recommendations, Mr. Walcoe was an investment counselor and branch manager.

Rodgers, Arkansas Financial Advisor Rhett Bedwell BARRED by FINRA

Published on: March 3, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred stockbroker Rhett Douglas Bedwell from the securities industry. Mr. Bedwell was expelled from the brokerage industry for refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation in whether Mr. Bedwell moved a client’s IRA to a different administrator and used forged documentation to invest the client’s money into a Ponzi Scheme.

Mr. Bedwell was a financial advisor with LPL Financial LLC (“LPL Financial”) in Rodgers, Arkansas, from November 2017 until his employment ended in August 2019. On September 9, 2020, LPL Financial disclosed that Mr. Bedwell had been identified in a pending customer arbitration alleging that in 2019, he moved a client’s IRA to a different administrator and used forged documentation to invest the client’s money into a Ponzi Scheme.

Before his employment with LPL Financial, Mr. Bedwell was a financial advisor at Arvest Wealth Management in Bentonville, Arkansas, from July 2015 until November 2017.

INVESTOR ALERT: ATTENTION AIRBORNE WIRELESS NETWORK (ABWN) STOCKHOLDERS

Published on: March 3, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

IORIO ALTAMIRANO LLP IS INVESTIGATING CLAIMS ON BEHALF OF AIRBORNE STOCKHOLDERS FOLLOWING SEC FRAUD CHARGES

On March 2, 2021, the SEC charged seven individuals and a technology company in connection with a fraudulent scheme to gain control of Airborne Wireless Network (ABWN), promote its stock, and defraud investors.

If your stockbroker recommended that you invest in Airborne Wireless Network (ABWN) stock, you might have a claim. Contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.

Broker Megurditch Mike Patatian, Formerly of Western International Securities, Inc. Facing Disciplinary Charges by FINRA for Recommending Unsuitable Illiquid REITs to 59 Customers, Including 21 Elderly Customers – Westlake Village, California

Published on: March 1, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Department of Enforcement has filed a disciplinary proceeding complaint against broker Megurditch Patatian (aka Mike Patatian) alleging that, while associated with Western International Securities, Inc., Mr. Patatian engaged in conduct in violation of FINRA rules, including:

making 81 unsuitable recommendations to purchase over $7.8 million in non-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to 59 customers, including 21 senior investors;
recommending illiquid non-traded REIT to six customers that also needed liquidity;

Great Nation Investment Corporation President and CEO, Bryon Pat Treat, BARRED by FINRA – Amarillo, Texas

Published on: March 1, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has barred Great Nation Investment Corporation President, and CEO Bryon Pat Treat from the securities industry. Mr. Treat has been barred from associating with any FINRA member firm in any capacity because he refused to provide information and documents connected with FINRA’s investigation into whether he reasonably supervised the sale of illiquid “church bonds.”

Earlier this year, FINRA also barred financial advisor David A. Jenson from the securities industry for failing to cooperate with an investigation into whether Mr. Jenson recommended customers invest in an unsuitable concentration of church bonds. To read more about Mr. Jenson’s expulsion, please click here.

Great Nation Investment Corporation is an SEC-registered brokerage firm headquartered in Amarillo, Texas. The firm’s primary business activity is the offer and sale of church bonds.

Former LPL Financial Broker Bradley Allen Goodbred BARRED by FINRA – Roselle, IL

Published on: March 1, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has barred former LPL stockbroker Bradley Allen Goodbred from the securities industry for refusing to respond to an information request issued pursuant to FINRA Rule 8210.

On February 1, 2021, LPL terminated Goodbred’s registration by filing a Form U5, stating that Goodbred had been terminated because he failed to disclose and obtain the firms’ approval to act as power of attorney for a customer, in violation of firm policy. LPL stated that Mr. Goodbred used the power of attorney to request and facilitate distributions of funds from the customer’s outside advisory accounts, deposit the funds into the customer’s bank account, and then had the customer provide him with personal checks totaling $430,000 made payable to a real estate company representative owned and operated as an outside business activity. Goodbred and FINRA entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”) on February 16, 2021.

FINRA indicated that the matter originated from a tip received by FINRA staff on January 13, 2021.

Broker Ricky Alan Mantei Suspended by FINRA For Violating Firm Prearranged Trading Prohibitions – Lexington, SC

Published on: March 1, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has suspended Ricky Alan Mantei from the securities industry for 30 business days. According to an Office of Hearing Officers (“OHO”) decision from February 18, 2021, Mantei violated his firm’s prearranged trading prohibition and circumvented its cross-trade procedures by directing prearranged trading with intermediaries in order to facilitate and disguise cross trades. Mantei was fined a total of $15,000 for violating FINRA Rule 2010 and MSRB Rule G-17.

If the OHO decision becomes FINRA’s final disciplinary action, Mantei’s 30-day suspension will run from April 19, 2021, to June 1, 2021.

If you have invested with Ricky Alan Mantei, contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.

Broker Spotlight: Daniel T. Lerner of David Lerner Associates, Inc. Facing Three Pending Securities Arbitration Complaints – White Plains, New York

Published on: February 28, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

Daniel Todd Lerner is a stockbroker with David Lerner Associates, Inc. (“David Lerner ”) in White Plains, New York, with a history of customer complaints.

Mr. Daniel T. Lerner has been the subject of seven customer complaints, which include three pending disputes. The pending disputes are securities arbitration claims filed by customers of Mr. Daniel T. Lerner, alleging that he unsuitably recommended purchasing Energy 11, LP, a limited partnership investment that invests in offshore oil and gas properties. Two of the complaints also include allegations that Mr. Daniel T. Lerner unsuitably recommended the purchase of the Great Art Fund. All three complaints allege that Mr. Lerner misrepresented and omitted material facts related to these investments.

Separately, in January 2021, a customer alleged $100,000 in damages resulting from unsuitable investment recommendations concerning a mutual fund, as well as interests in Direct Participation Programs (DPP) and Limited Partnerships (LPs). A DPP is a financial security that enables investors to participate in a business venture’s cash flow and tax benefits. The customer did not file a securities arbitration complaint. Instead, the customer complained directly to David Lerner, and the firm denied the complaint. Customers such as this investor may still file a securities arbitration complaint. They should contact an experienced securities arbitration attorney to further consultation.

Moab, Utah Financial Advisor Scott Hansen, Formerly of LPL Financial LLC, Suspended by FINRA

Published on: February 26, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended financial advisor Scott Richard Hansen for three months from the securities industry over allegations that Mr. Hansen, who is not a lawyer and did not attend law school, prepared a will and trust agreement for an elderly client who was in hospice care. FINRA also fined Mr. Hansen $7,500.

At the time of the alleged conduct, Mr. Hansen was a financial advisor with LPL Financial in Moab, Utah. LPL Financial terminated his employment in March 2020 for his conduct.

If you have lost money with broker Scott Hansen or LPL Financial, contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential review of your account.

Former Woodrock Securities, L.P. and Campfire Capital Broker, Sean McDevitt, Suspended by FINRA

Published on: February 26, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended broker Sean Daniel McDevitt for six months from the securities industry over allegations that Mr. McDevitt, while associated with Woodrock Securities, L.P. in Houston, Texas, participated in four private securities transactions totaling $600,000 without notice to or approval from his firm. FINRA also fined Mr. McDevitt $10,000.

Mr. McDevitt was a financial advisor with Woodrock Securities, L.P. in Houston, Texas, from November 2015 until December 2016. He was then registered with Campfire Capital in Chappaqua, New York, from July 2017 until January 2021.

If you have lost money with broker Sean McDevitt, Woodrock Securities, L.P., or Campfire Capital, contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.

Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog