Archive for 'Securities & Arbitration' Category

Former Charles Schwab Employee Awarded $1.8 Million by FINRA Arbitration

A FINRA Arbitration Panel has awarded a former Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. employee punitive damages for wrongful termination and defamation. Mr. Timothy Leahy was employed at the Orlando office of Schwab since 1991. In 2006, Mr. Leahy was terminated for his alleged failure to adhere to human-resources policies. Mr. Leahy successfully alleged that he [...]

Napoli Bern Ripka LLP Investigates Tenant-In-Common Securities

The Securities Fraud Department of Napoli Bern Ripka LLP is investigating inappropriate sales practices by brokerage firms in the recommendation of tenant-in-common investments vehicles. Investors allege that brokers and brokerage firms promoted this speculative investment product as safe incoming producing investments.
Tenant-in-Common (“TIC”) investments allow investors to acquire a fractional interest or co-ownership in real estate. [...]

FINRA Fines H&R Block Financial Advisors $200,000 For Sale of Reverse Convertible Notes

Regulators are becoming concerned over the lack of full disclosure of the risks inherent in reverse capital notes and the lack of supervisory procedures in place to ensure consumers’ interest are protected. On February 16, 2010, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced its first enforcement action concerning the sales of reverse convertible notes (RCNs). [...]

FINRA Warns Brokerage Firms On Social Media Communications

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is examining the way both brokerage firms and industry professional use social media sites to promote their services and products. Social media sites are growing as a vital medium for business to communicate with the public and potential customers. A recent study shows that an estimated 46% of Americans [...]

FINRA Cautions Advisors Selling Reverse Convertible Notes

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is examining brokerage firm sales practices for reverse convertible notes (RCN) and warning advisors of their obligations to investors. RCNs are a type of structured product that are comprised of high-yield, short-term notes of an issuer and a put-option that is linked to the performance of an unrelated asset [...]

Principle Protected Notes Failed To Protect Principle

Investors across the country are successfully alleging that financial advisors and brokerage firms misrepresented the known risks in principle protected notes (PPNs). Investors are alleging that their financial advisors failed to disclose the risks inherent in this complex structured product. PPNs were marketed to investors as safe investments that provided the return of their principle [...]

Lehman Notes

Napoli Bern Ripka LLP is currently seeking clients who have incurred losses in investments in Lehman Brothers notes. In December, a small investor was awarded $200,000 after a Financial Industry Regulation Authority (FINRA) panel decided her UBS AG broker inappropriately sold her risky Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. principal-protected notes. The case is one of the [...]

Citigroup Hedge Funds

Napoli Bern Ripka LLP is currently seeking clients who have lost money investing in Citigroup hedge funds. Citigroup managed a number of hedge funds that experienced significant declines, including ASTA Funds, MAT Funds, and Falcon Strategies. The ASTA and MAT Funds were marketed to investors as relatively low-risk, conservative funds that invested in fixed-income investments [...]

Brookstone Securities

Napoli Bern Ripka LLP is currently seeking clients who have incurred losses due to mismanagement of assets by Brookstone Securities and its representative, Richard Buswell. Buswell allegedly grossly overstated clients’ potential earnings, received higher than expected commissions, and convinced clients to invest in companies from which he received commissions. Buswell is also accused of making [...]

Oppenheimer Champion Income Fund – OPCHX

Napoli Bern Ripka LLP is currently seeking clients who have incurred losses due to mismanagement of assets by Oppenheimer Funds, and in particular, the Oppenheimer Champion Income Fund. This fund was marketed to investors as being a diversified, conservative high-income fund. Unbeknownst to many investors and without the approval of shareholders, the fund invested over [...]