ROMAN JERZY SLEDZIEJOWSKI BARRED FROM THE SECURITIES INDUSTRY BY FINRA FOR STEALING CUSTOMERS' FUNDS

Roman Jerzy Sledziejowski, a former broker with Brooklyn, New York based TWS Financial, LLC, submitted an Offer of Settlement in which he consented to the entry of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) findings that as part of a fraudulent scheme, he converted and/or misused funds of his firm's customers and provided false account statements to some of those customers in an attempt to hide the misconduct. FINRA said that during the course of Mr. Sledziejowski's fraudulent scheme, a total of approximately $4.8 million was wired to a company that Mr. Sledziejowski owned from the bank and brokerage accounts of firm customers. FINRA also said that Mr. Sledziejowski provided some of the customers with account statements and snapshots that displayed account balances consistent with what the customers believed to be in their firm brokerage account. Based on the actual account statements provided by the firm's clearing firms, the statements Mr. Sledziejowski provided were fabrications and the values and holdings in the customers' firm brokerage accounts differed significantly from what Mr. Sledziejowski led them to believe were in their brokerage accounts. As of April 2013, Mr. Sledziejowski had only returned approximately $1.5 million of those funds to the customers. FINRA further included that Mr. Sledziejowski failed to cooperate with FINRA's investigation and failed to appear for an on-the-record interview. Mr. Sledziejowski, of Ossining, New York, was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity.

Broker-dealers must establish and implement a reasonable supervisory system to protect customers from broker misconduct. If broker-dealers do not establish and implement a reasonable supervisory system, they may be liable to investors for damages flowing from the misconduct. Therefore, investors who have suffered damages due to Mr. Sledziejowski's fraudulent scheme can bring forth claims to recover losses against TWS Financial, which should have prevented Mr. Sledziejowski from committing the described illegal acts. Have you suffered losses in your TWS Financial account due to Roman Jerzy Sledziejowski's fraudulent scheme? If so, call Robert Pearce at the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. for a free consultation.

The most important of investors' rights is the right to be informed! This Investors' Rights blog post is by the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., located in Boca Raton, Florida. For over 30 years, Attorney Pearce has tried, arbitrated, and mediated hundreds of disputes involving complex securities, commodities and investment law issues. The lawyers at our law firm are devoted to protecting investors' rights throughout the United States and internationally! Please visit our website, www.secatty.com, post a comment, call (800) 732-2889, or email Mr. Pearce at pearce@rwpearce.com for answers to any of your questions about this blog post and/or any related matter.

FLORIDA SUNTRUST INVESTMENT SERVICES BRANCH MANAGER BRENNAN R. LOLLAR BARRED FOR MISAPPROPRIATING FUNDS

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred Brennan R. Lollar from association with any FINRA member for misappropriating funds while working as a branch manager for SunTrust Investment Services. FINRA's finding stated that Mr. Lollar transferred funds into customers' accounts without SunTrust's permission and labeled them as refunds of banks fees. However, bank fees were never incurred by the customers, and Mr. Lollar knew that the customers were not entitled to any refunds. Mr. Lollar misappropriated a total of $3,242.90 into customer accounts through a series of small transactions - Mr. Lollar admitted to the bank that he issued the false refunds for purposes of gaining favor with certain customers. SunTrust Investments obtained reimbursement through the liquidation of Mr. Lollar's retirement fund. In addition, Mr. Lollar did not respond to FINRA requests for information and failed to appear for an on-the-record FINRA interview.
Broker-dealers must establish and implement a reasonable supervisory system to protect clients from fraudulent practices by their investment professionals. If broker-dealers do not establish and/or implement a reasonable supervisory system, they may be liable to investors for damages. Therefore, investors who have suffered damages resulting from the misappropriation of their funds by an investment professional can bring forth claims to recover losses against their broker-dealer for failure to prevent such illegal activity.
Have you suffered damages resulting from a misappropriation of your funds? If so, call Robert Pearce at the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. for a free consultation.
The most important of investors' rights is the right to be informed! This Investors' Rights blog post is by the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., located in Boca Raton, Florida. For over 30 years, Attorney Pearce has tried, arbitrated, and mediated hundreds of disputes involving complex securities, commodities and investment law issues. The lawyers at our law firm are devoted to protecting investors' rights throughout the United States and internationally! Please visit our website, www.secatty.com, post a comment, call (800) 732-2889, or email Mr. Pearce at pearce@rwpearce.com for answers to any of your questions about this blog post and/or any related matter.

FLORIDA MERRILL LYNCH BROKER CHARLES EUGENE BISHOP JR. FINED AND SUSPENDED FOR ATTEMPTING TO MISAPPROPRIATE $3 MILLION FROM ELDERLY CLIENT

Charles Eugene Bishop Jr. has been fined $7,500 and suspended for two years by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for attempting to misappropriate approximately $3 million from an elderly client while he was at Merrill Lynch. FINRA's findings stated that Mr. Bishop generated paperwork by which the deceased client's assets would be transferred to a purported entity that was never formed, but whose name was identical to a company the client owned, with a tax identification number assigned by the IRS to a different entity that was never formed, but whose sole member was Mr. Bishop.
In order to carry out his scheme, Mr. Bishop had the client sign a firm form that designated Mr. Bishop's entity. Even though the client's signature was notarized, the client was not present when the form was notarized by the notary. In addition, the tax identification number on another firm form the client signed was changed to the tax identification number associated with Mr. Bishop's entity. Furthermore, the findings stated that after the client passed away, Mr. Bishop filed a notice, through his attorney, with his state's probate division asserting that he had an interest in the deceased client's estate as beneficiary. The court eventually issued an order invalidating the beneficiary designations after Mr. Bishop was terminated from Merrill Lynch.
Broker-dealers must establish and implement a reasonable supervisory system to protect clients from fraudulent practices by their brokers. If broker-dealers do not establish and/or implement a reasonable supervisory system, they may be liable to investors for damages. Therefore, investors who have suffered damages resulting from the misappropriation of their funds by their broker can bring forth claims to recover losses against their broker-dealer for failure to prevent such illegal activity.
Have you suffered damages resulting from a misappropriation of your funds by your broker? If so, call Robert Pearce at the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. for a free consultation.
The most important of investors' rights is the right to be informed! This Investors' Rights blog post is by the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., located in Boca Raton, Florida. For over 30 years, Attorney Pearce has tried, arbitrated, and mediated hundreds of disputes involving complex securities, commodities and investment law issues. The lawyers at our law firm are devoted to protecting investors' rights throughout the United States and internationally! Please visit our website, www.secatty.com, post a comment, call (800) 732-2889, or email Mr. Pearce at pearce@rwpearce.com for answers to any of your questions about this blog post and/or any related matter.

ELDER FINANCIAL ABUSE EPIDEMIC NOT ONLY IN FLORIDA BUT NATIONWIDE

Elder financial abuse is an "epidemic" and likely to become much worse given that 77 million baby boomers are entering their so-called "retirement" years (See "Golden years? Financial elder-abuse now epidemic," Andrew Osterland, InvestmentNews). Between 500,000 and 5 million elders are abused, neglected or exploited each year, and the abuse is often unreported. "Elders can be afraid to report abuse, for a variety of reasons," one practitioner was quoted as saying, adding: "In many cases, they may depend on the abuser and fear reprisals from them. They may be afraid of being placed in a nursing home or dread the stigma of domestic violence."

Fifty eight percent of elder abuse involves financial exploitation. Financial abuse is often accompanied by emotional abuse. In many cases, the abuser is a family member who has been appointed as attorney-in-fact or guardian for the elder, or one who is offended at not being so appointed.

The abuser is a spouse, child or relative in 78% of elder-abuse cases according to 2010 statistics from the Illinois Department on Aging. In one infamous example, actor Mickey Rooney reportedly said he had food and water withheld from him by his stepson, who allegedly stole over $400,000 from him.
Professionals often have occasion to suspect that a client, friend or family member is being abused or is losing the capacity to make financial decisions. If diminished mental capacity or abuse is suspected, the professional should express those concerns to family and friends of the victim and, where appropriate, to legal counsel.

The most important of investors' rights is the right to be informed! This Investors' Rights blog post is by the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., located in Boca Raton, Florida. For over 30 years, Mr. Pearce has tried, arbitrated, and mediated hundreds of disputes involving complex securities, commodities and investment law issues. Our law firm is devoted to protecting investors' rights throughout the United States and internationally! Please visit our website, www.secatty.com, post a comment, call (800) 732-2889, or email Mr. Pearce at pearce@rwpearce.com for answers to any of your questions about this blog post and/or any related matter.