Investor Lawyers Blog

Recently, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) ordered Wells Fargo & Co. to pay a $3.4 million fine in connection with sales practice issues related to recommendations of volatility-linked exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and volatility-linked exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”) to customers. Specifically, FINRA determined that between July 2010 and May 2012, some Wells Fargo brokers affiliated with…

Investors in Atlas Resources 28-2010 L.P. (“Atlas 28-2010” or, the “Partnership”) may be able to recover investment losses through FINRA arbitration. Atlas 28-2010 is a Delaware limited partnership formed on April 1, 2010, with Atlas Resources, LLC serving as its Managing General Partner and Operator (“Atlas Resources” or “MGP”). Atlas Resources is an indirect subsidiary…

Hospitality Investors Trust Inc. (formerly known as ARC Hospitality Trust, Inc.) is a non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on ownership of hotels and other lodging properties in the United States. As a publicly registered non-traded REIT, Hospitality Investors Trust was permitted to sell shares to the investing public at large, oftentimes upon the…

Investors in American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust III Inc. (“ARC HT III”) may be able to recover losses on their investment in FINRA arbitration. ARC HT III is a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust (“REIT”) sponsored by AR Global and based in New York, NY. As its name suggests, this non-traded REIT is…

Investors in ATEL 14 LLC (“ATEL 14,” or the “Company”), or a similar illiquid investment product, may be able to recover losses on their investment through FINRA arbitration, or in some instances, securities litigation. The attorneys at Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C. possess considerable experience in representing aggrieved investors who have lost money…

Increasingly, hackers are breaking into retail brokerage accounts in order to steal investor assets or make illegal trades. This rise in cyber-generated theft and fraudulent securities schemes and activities has prompted the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to begin tracking cyber-related criminal activity more closely. In June 2017, the SEC appointed Stephanie Avakian and Steven…

On October 11, 2017, Michael Giokas, the founder of Giokas Wealth Advisors, was reportedly arrested on fraud charges. Mr. Giokas’ arrest was the result of an investigation by the FBI Buffalo Office concerning allegations that the Williamsville broker misappropriated $200,000 from one of his clients. At Mr. Giokas’ arraignment before Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer,…

If your broker or financial advisor recommended an oil and gas investment(s), and you have sustained losses in connection with that energy product(s), you may be able to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration. According to data and statistics disseminated in February 2017 by Oilfield Services counsel at Haynes and Boone, LLP, a total of…

Recently, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has devoted significant regulatory oversight to one financial product that is rife with potential for abuse: the variable annuity (“VA”). As a general rule, annuities are treated as insurance products. Accordingly, annuities are subject to regulation at the State level. Specifically, each State maintains a guarantee fund that…

FINRA fined Carolina Financial Securities, LLC (“CFS”) of Brevard, North Carolina $60,000 and served it with a Letter of Caution in a case involving allegations that CFS made material misrepresentations and omissions in connection with the sale of securities. FINRA also found that that the firm recommended securities- certain senior secured notes- to customers without…