According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), USA Retirement Management Services (USARMS), managed by Francios E. Durmaz and Robert C. Pribilski, used estate planning seminars to perpetuate a Ponzi scheme. The SEC alleges that Durmaz and Pribilski, through mass mailings, invited retirees to attend estate planning seminars and then conned them into purchasing USARMS…
DetailsThe Doss Firm is pleased to announce a favorable decision issued by the Georgia Supreme Court in a pending case against Georgia Natural Gas. Our firm, along with the firm of Strickland Brockington & Lewis, represent Charles Ellison and Susan Bresler who filed a class action lawsuit against Southstar Energy Services, LLC d/b/a Georgia Natural…
DetailsOn February 16, 2010, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined H&R Block Financial Advisors, Inc., (n/k/a Ameriprise Financial) $200,000 for failing to establish adequate supervisory systems and procedures for supervising sales of a unique and relatively new investment called reverse convertible notes to retail customers. FINRA also fined and suspended H&R Block broker Andrew MacGill,…
DetailsAccording to The Star-Ledger, Stephen Severio, a former Merrill Lynch financial adviser has plead guilty to two counts of theft by deception and to commercial bribery relating to a scheme that netted nearly $700,000. Severio admitted to the court that he had convinced 31 long-term clients of Merrill Lynch to withdraw their money from their…
DetailsThe Doss Firm, LLC is currently investigating whether Ameriprise Financial f/k/a H&R Block Financial Advisors violated industry rules on a wide-spread basis in connection with the unsuitable sale of reverse convertible notes to senior citizens. FINRA fined the firm as well as Andrew MacGill, a broker with the firm, this week for making unsuitable sales…
DetailsFINRA, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced that it was fining H&R Block Financial Advisors, Inc. (n/k/a Ameriprise Advisor Services, Inc.) $200,000 for failing to establish adequate supervisory procedures in connection with the sale of reverse convertible notes. FINRA also fined Andrew MacGill, an advisor of the firm for making unsuitable recommendations to a retired couple.…
DetailsAccording to First Coast News in Ponte Vedra, Florida, Michael Joseph Dimare pleaded guilty to mail fraud Monday for scamming about 22 people out of approximately $2 million. He worked as a registered representative of ING Financial Partners from October 2006 to May 2008. Based on the article, it appears that Mr. Dimare engaged in…
DetailsAccording to an article in today’s Atlanta Journal Constitution, Rhea Dignam was named the regional chief for the Securities Exchange Commission. Ms. Dignam will be working from the Atlanta-based regional office and she will oversee the office’s enforcement and examination activities for the five-state region of the Southeast. According to the article, she is replacing…
DetailsVirtually every homeowner purchases title insurance when they buy a home. Stuart Title Guaranty is one of the nation’s largest providers of title insurance. According to a recent Atlanta Journal Constitution article entitled Title insurance company accused of overcharging, the Georgia Department of Insurance filed a regulatory action against the company alleging that Stuart Title…
DetailsAccording to the Los Angeles Times, Robert Khuzami, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) director of enforcement, has initiated a new whistle-blower program to attempt to catch fraudsters in the act. This program hopes to stop the fraudster before they have caused too much damage and to attempt to seize the most assets possible for…
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