Articles Posted in FINRA Arbitration

On May 4, 2015, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Securities Division (“Division”) entered a Cease and Desist Order (“Order”) against certain Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Funds. With respect to the Order, these mortgage funds — which are offered by Woodbridge Wealth (“Woodbridge”) of Sherman Oaks, CA — include: Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund 1, LLC, Woodbridge Mortgage Investment…

On October 4, 2016, the Texas State Securities Board (the “Board”) entered a Disciplinary Order (“Order”) against Respondents Calton & Associates, Inc. (CRD# 20999) (“Calton”) and stockbroker M. F. Long II (CRD# 1778299) (“Mickey Long”). The Respondents consented to the entry of the Order and its associated findings of fact and conclusions of law. The…

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”) with First Allied Securities, Inc. (CRD #32444, San Diego, California) on August 21, 2017 arising from the firm’s practices with respect to mutual fund sales charges. FINRA censured First Allied and required the firm to provide FINRA with a…

Investors who purchased shares in the publicly registered non-traded REIT United Development Funding III (“UDF III”) upon the recommendation of their stockbroker or financial advisor may be able to recover their losses in FINRA arbitration if the recommendation to purchase shares lacked a reasonable basis or the nature and characteristics of the investment were misrepresented.…

On November 15, 2017, H.R. Bill 4267 (the “Bill”), entitled the Small Business Credit Availability Act (the “Act”), passed the House Financial Services Committee by an overwhelming 58-2 vote. This Bill seeks to amend the Investment Company Act of 1940 (’40 Act), specifically the regulations currently governing business development companies (“BDCs”). In recent years, financial…

As recently reported, the Woodbridge Group of Companies, LLC (“Woodbridge”) of Sherman Oaks, CA, continues to face considerable regulatory scrutiny in connection with allegations of offering and selling unregistered securities. To date, Woodbridge has been the subject of investigations by state securities regulators in Arizona, Texas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. Several of these investigations have…

As recently reported, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) barred broker John Phillip Correnti (CRD# 5319471) in light of his failure to provide testimony and documents in connection with an investigation into potential violations of applicable securities industry rules. Publicly available information through FINRA indicates that, in a career spanning 2007 – 2016, Mr. Correnti…

As part of its ongoing enforcement focus on variable annuity (“VA”) sales practices, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) recently censured and fined Hornor, Townsend & Kent, Inc. (“HTK”) $275,000 for its alleged failure to supervise its brokers’ sales of VAs. HTK (CRD# 4031), headquartered in Horsham, PA, is a full-service broker-dealer that offers a…

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) obtained an order on September 21, 2017 requiring the Woodbridge Group of Companies LLC (“Woodbridge”), of Sherman Oaks, California, to produce the documents of several company executives and employees, including the President and CEO. This order reportedly relates to an SEC investigation of Woodbridge. The SEC is reportedly…

If your financial advisor has recommended an unsuitable investment in a Master Limited Partnership (or “MLP”) without a reasonable basis for the recommendation, you may be able to recover losses through arbitration before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). Recently, a three-member all public FINRA arbitration panel ordered RBC Capital Markets and one of its…