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Regulators Pursue Enforcement Actions Against Woodbridge Sales Representatives
By George C. Miller, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Friday, June 8, 2018.
Last December, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused the Woodbridge Group of Companies and its founder, Robert Shapiro, of running a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme and allegedly bilking thousands of retail investors, including many senior citizens, out of their hard earned retirement funds. According to the SEC’s complaint, Woodbridge [...] Read More
Outside Business Activity Abuses High on FINRA’s Hit List
By Erwin J. Shustak, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Wednesday, June 6, 2018.
As a sign of just how serious FINRA considers failures by brokers to comply with their firm’s Outside Business Activity disclosure rules to be, consider this: Four of the 11 consent letters, by which a registered person agrees to a settlement with FINRA [...] Read More
Keys to Spotting Market “Bubbles”
By Erwin J. Shustak, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Friday, June 1, 2018.
Vikram Mansharamani, a lecturer at Harvard’s John Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, pointed to several “clues” that the economy is possibly ripe for a bubble crash. [...] Read More
Seniors Most Often Defrauded by Family and Friends
By Erwin J. Shustak, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2018.
For a number of reasons, seniors are some of the most likely victims of financial and securities fraud. First, given their age and the fact that many senior lives alone, seniors tend to be more trusting than younger people. [...] Read More
Broker Alert - FINRA to Publicly Report Undisclosed Bankruptcies, Judgments and Liens on New U4’s
By Erwin J. Shustak, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Thursday, May 24, 2018.
Beginning July 9, 2018, FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, will search public records to determine whether registered reps who move from one firm to another disclosed any prior bankruptcies, judgments or liens. [...] Read More
California Supreme Court Brings Substantial Change to Employee/Independent Contractor Classification
By Jessica L. Mackaness, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2018.
On April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, which significantly changed the standard for determining whether workers in California should be classified as “employees” or as “independent contractors” for purposes of the wage orders adopted by California’s Industrial Welfare Commission [...] Read More
MERRILL BROKER FIRED OVER $524.00 EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT: THE TREND CONTINUES ON EXPENSE INFRACTIONS
By Erwin Shustak, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2018.
The industry-wide crackdown on expense account improprieties continues. In recent blogs I wrote about the crackdown by FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and member firms on violations of expense reimbursement policies [...] Read More
New SEC Rulemaking Package Seeks to Enhance Retail Investor Protection and Awareness
By Erik M. Ideta, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Wednesday, May 2, 2018.
On April 18, 2018, the SEC voted 4 to 1 to propose the Standards of Conduct for Investment Professionals Rule making Package, a package designed to enhance the protection and decision-making of retail, or “Main Street,” investors. Read More
FINRA Proposes New Anti-Churning Rule
By Erwin J. Shustak, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Wednesday, April 25, 2018.
In an effort to locate and identify brokers who excessively trade their clients’ accounts to benefit themselves through excessive trading commissions to the detriment of their clients, FINRA announced a new proposal to widen the net to ensnare brokers who “churn” client accounts. Read More
Rogue Brokers in the News; Fraudsters and Thieves of Client Funds
By Erwin J. Shustak, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Tuesday, April 24, 2018.
Two rogue brokers made the news this week. One, a former Ameriprise broker in Los Angles, was arrested by the FBI and charged with money laundering and federal fraud... Read More