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State securities regulators around the country warn that high oil prices that prevailed until recently created a heightened interest in investments in energy-related business ventures- ventures that may lead to losses now that oil prices have plummeted to the $45 a barrel range (from around $100 a barrel in recent months) Oil and gas investments…

A recent Reuters article analyzed the success of funds structured and offered by Reef Oil & Gas Partners, Black Diamond, and Discovery Resources & Development LLC . These firms have marketed their funds to investors as a way to profit from the U.S. shale oil and fracking boom. These companies issue limited partnerships and other…

With crude oil trading in the range of $45 a barrel, down from over $100 a barrel in the past year, investments linked to the value of crude oil extraction such as royalty trusts have also seen their share prices plummet. The ten largest royalty trusts traded on the U.S. exchanges are: BP Prudhoe Bay…

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has charged broker Thomas Sharp with making misleading communications to customers concerning non-traded REITs. FINRA alleges that Sharp violated NASD Rule 2210(d) by sending customers e-mails recommending the REITs that were not fair and balanced and failed to provide a sound basis for evaluating the facts. Sharp was associated with…

During October 2014, LPL Financial agreed to reimburse nearly $550,000 to investors to resolve a Massachusetts claim that LPL had allowed its brokers to engage in “annuity switching” in the accounts of senior investors. “Annuity switching” means that a broker advises an investor to sell one annuity in order to purchase another for no legitimate…

FINRA suspended Herbert Leonard Kaye, formerly a First Allied Broker, for four months beginning September 2015 and fined him $25,000, including a $11,000 in disgorgement of commissions charged to a customer. According to FINRA, Kaye carried out 2,000 discretionary trades in the account of a sole customer between June 2010 and April 2013. Kaye’s customer…

FINRA has filed a complaint against registered reprensentative Darrell W. Mikulencak alleging forgery and failing to appear to testify in Kansas City. FINRA alleges that Mikulencak forged a bank employee’s signature as well as that of a notary public in order to transfer the registration of stock certificates. Mikulencak allegedly did not have authority or…

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois sentenced Oscar Donald Overbey, Jr. to 3.5 years in federal prison for defrauding more than 30 people out of $4 million. The court found that he had defrauded his clients to pay for personal expenses and fund a gambling habit. Overbey allegedly convinced his victims…

During August 2014, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) filed a complaint against Steven L. Stahler, formerly a broker with VSR Financial Services, for making unsuitable recommendations to his customers. Allegedly, Stahler recommended high concentrations of private placements and real estate investment trusts (REITs) that exceeded his clients’ stated risk tolerance and investment objectives. His recommendations…

FINRA has barred Jo Ellen Fisher, a former Raymond James broker who allegedly set up a scheme to steal nearly $1 million from her 95 year old client. By forging a godparent certificate, Fisher’s daughter was set to receive the money upon turning 21. Raymond James has sought to recoup the money but it is…