MDF LAW - Key Persons
Pelican Bay Wealth Management is a group within Morgan Stanley that Anthony Gallea is affiliated with. Mr. Gallea has worked for Morgan Stanley since 2009 and was previously registered with Citigroups Global Markets. He has been in the securities industry since 1980, starting his career at Lehman Brothers in New York City. He has a total of three disclosures on his securities license and all three of them are customer disputes related to options trading.
FINRA records list 22 settled customer complaints against Austin Dutton and his former member firm, Newbridge Securities Corporation. They allege a range of misconduct, including breach of fiduciary duty, unsuitable investment recommendations, breach of contract, misrepresentation of material facts, negligence, and supervisory failures. The products at issue include alternative investments, structured products, and real estate investment trusts. The complaints settled for a cumulative total of more than $600,000.
Austin Dutton has defended himself against many of the allegations against him in the above-referenced complaints. His "Broker Comment" on several of the disclosures states in part that he "vehemently denies all accusations" and notes that the complaints were settled by Newbridge Securities without his participation.
Austin Dutton has spent 25 years in the securities industry. He has been registered as a broker with American Trust Investment Services in Doylestown, Pennsylvania since June 2021. His previous registrations include American Trust Investment Services in Whiting, Indiana (2020-2021); Primex in New York, New York (2019-2020); Center Street Securities in Doylestown, Pennsylvania (2017); Newbridge Securities in Doylestown, Pennsylvania (2007-2017); Boenning & Scattergood in Langhorne, Pennsylvania (2002-2007); Ferris Baker Watts in Baltimore, Maryland (2000-2002); AG Edwards & Sons in St. Louis, Missouri (1997-2000); and Prudential Securities in New York, New York (1996-1997). He has passed four securities industry examinations: Series 65 (Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination), obtained on July 26, 1996; Series 63 (Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination), obtained on July 2, 1996; SIE (Securities Industry Essentials Examination), obtained on October 1, 2018; and Series 7 (General Securities Representative Examination), obtained on June 19, 1996. He is currently registered as a broker in Pennsylvania.
Former RBC Advisor Bruce Cameron was the subject of a complaint from the Securities Commissioner of the State of Massachusetts. The complaint concerns his sale of master limited partnerships. These generally included oil and gas investments. Here is a copy of the Complaint: Do You Have a Complaint Against RBC or Bruce Cameron? Notice: JavaScript
Bruce Hanks (CRD 2916399) and Wealth Management of Kentucy have entered into a consent order with the State of Kentucy. The consent order deals with the marketing of REITs and business development corporations. According to the Order, Hanks hosted seminars at the Hyatt Recency Hotel in Lexington, Kentucky on March 20, 2019. The purpose of […]
Chuck Cox (CRD# 2283909) is involved in a customer dispute alleging six-figure damages. According to his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck report, accessed on February 4, 2022, the Cox Financial broker/adviser is currently based in Federal Way, Washington. Pending Complaint: Cox Violated Fiduciary Duty In December 2021 a customer alleged Mr. Cox failed to […]
Colin Seibert (CRD #2710335), based in Houma, Louisiana is involved in a new investor dispute concerning oil and gas investments. Seibert has been licensed with Raymond James since 20013. The information for this article is based on Seibert's public BrokerCheck report, which was last accessed on February 16, 2023. 2021 Customer Settlement According to the […]
Dave Frier (CRD 1029781) and Pathway Advisors Group have entered into a consent order with the Securities Commissioner of the State of Colorado. The order resolves complaints related to complex products such as inverse and leveraged ETFs. Dave Frier is still licensed with Pathway Advisors Group. He is also registered with Maia Wealth. Here is […]
David Chang (CRD# 5020283), a Honolulu-based investment adviser, is under investigation for allegedly misleading his clients by "guaranteeing high returns," according to a report by Hawaii News Now. Chang is currently registered as an investment adviser with WealthBridge Inc. Report: Hawaii GOP Chair David Chang Under FBI Investigation According to the report by Hawaii News […]
Job Titles:
- Wisconsin Broker William Mielke Allegedly Churned Investments
Wisconsin based Stifel Nicolaus & Company broker William Mielke (CRD# 1219765) is embroiled in a pending customer dispute alleging he engaged in unauthorized trading. According to his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck report, accessed on March 17, 2022, Mr. Mielke is based out of the firm's branch office in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Complaint Alleges
Glen Turner (CRD# 2503850) recently departed Merrill Lynch for Kestra Investment Services' branch office in Boca Raton, Florida. According to his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck report, last accessed on December 2, 2021, Mr. Turner has been involved in several customer complaints. Customer Complaints: Turner Made Unsuitable Recommendations, Used Margin FINRA records describe two […]
Jeffrey Saxon is a New York litigator with extensive experience appearing before both state and federal court. Prior to joining MDF Law, Mr. Saxon spent the majority of his career as a defense attorney. Jeffrey is a partner and handles investment related disputes, including matters before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA. Jeff has experience representing victims of ponzi schemes and other complex financial scams.
Immediately prior to joining MDF Law, Mr. Saxon served as Assistant General Counsel for the New York City Department of Correction. In that role, he supervised an extremely diverse caseload of claims filed against the City of New York in federal and state court. Mr. Saxon's docket as Assistant General Counsel ranged from negligence claims to complex class actions. Before working for the City of New York, he spent eight years as trial counsel defending hundreds of negligence, fraud and injury claims filed in state and federal court. Over the years Mr. Saxon has handled all aspects of litigation, including motion practice and trials.
Jeffrey grew up in Long Island, New York, where he currently lives with his wife and two children. He earned his law degree at the Hofstra University School of Law in 2007, where he also served as an associate editor of the Journal of International Business and Law. Prior to law school, Jeffrey graduated Binghamton University in 2004, where he earned his B.A. in both the Philosophy of Law and History, graduating as a member of the Alpha Theta Epsilon Chapter of the Phi Alpha Theta honors society.
Jeffrey Saxon is a partner at MDF Law. Mr. Saxon is a seasoned civil litigator whose practice focuses on complex commercial matters, including life insurance denials and securities fraud claims.
Jesse Webb (CRD# 2298761) allegedly engaged in "dishonest or unethical behavior in the securities industry" that resulted in the denial of his registration application by state regulators. According to his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck report, last accessed on December 8, 2021, Mr. Webb is currently a representative of Ameriprise Financial Services in The […]
John Gatto (CRD #: 1415454), an investment advisor registered with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner, & Smith, has a new customer complaint involving an alleged failure to follow instructions, according to his BrokerRecord, accessed on January 10, 2022. Mr. Gatto also has two settled customer disputes on his record as well as disputes that were denied […]
Joseph Szal (CRD# 2216245) was recently terminated from his position at Merrill Lynch in Irvine, California in connection to alleged rule violations. According to his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, he is currently registered with Tempus Wealth Planning in Irvine. Merrill Lynch Fired Szal over Alleged Rule Violations In January 2022 Merrill Lynch fired Mr. Szal […]
Keith Ashley (CRD # 4096004) has been charged with six counts of wire fraud in a scheme to defraud his clients of their investment funds. The U.S. Attorney's Office from the Eastern District of Texas has accused Ashley of defrauding investors of approximately $1.1 million. He would solicit funds from investors by representing the funds […]
Former AE Wealth Management advisor, Keith Gebert (CRD 5340558), was sanctioned by Oregon and New Jersey Securities regulators. Gebert was fired from AE Wealth Management in 2019. Here is more information about his situation based on public discloses last accessed from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on March 31, 2022. Information Concerning Keith Gebert Gebert
Kurt Stein (CRD# 3159180) is involved in a pending customer dispute alleging unsuitable investment recommendations. According to his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck report, accessed on February 3, 2022, he is currently registered as a broker and investment adviser with Quint Capital, also known as Skymount Capital, in New York City. Customer: Kurt Stein […]
Lawrence Delhagen (CRD# 2779312) has been involved in customer disputes alleging his actions caused substantial losses. According to his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority BrokerCheck report, last accessed on December 1, 2021, he was most recently registered with Stifel Nicolaus & Company in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. Also known as Larry Delhagen, he is not currently registered […]
Job Titles:
- Series 65 Uniform Investment Adviser
Marc Fitapelli is the owner and founder of MDF Law. He is a litigator whose practice focuses on representing investors in investment related disputes. Mr. Fitapelli has assisted clients in recovering hundreds of millions of dollars from major financial institutions, banks and insurance companies. Marc has been consistently selected as a Superlawyer by Thompson Reuters, a distinction that is awarded to only 2.5% of attorneys nationwide. He is also a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, which is awarded to trial attorneys who have won verdicts of at least $1 million. This distinction is only awarded to less than 1% of attorneys nationwide.
Marc Fitapelli is the owner and founder of MDF Law. He focuses his practice on complex securities litigation matters, exclusively representing investors in litigations before FINRA as well as in state and federal court.
Mark Kregor (CRD 2403684) was the subject of an agreed order with the State of Kentucy. Mr. Kregor is currently registered with Stifel, Nicholas in Louisville, Kentucky. He was previously registered with Robert Baird & Co. until he was "permitted to resign" on July 15, 2012. Important Information about Mark Kregor's Fine From 2013 to […]
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- Alabama Advisor Pat Brown and Pays $4.2 Million Customer Settlement
Alabama financial advisor Pat Brown (CRD 1148258) has been fired by Merrill Lynch. This is according to disclosures released by FINRA on January 11, 2020. He continues to be licensed as RFG Advisory, an SEC registered investment advisor. June 2021: Multi-Million Dollar Settlement On October 27, 2021, Merrill Lynch agreed to pay a customer settlement
The State of New Hampshire recently announced that Ameriprise advisor Michael Clark (CRD#: 2580455) was fined. According to his BrokerCheck report, accessed on November 12, 2021, Michael Clark's insurance licenses were also revoked from the States of New York and California. Here is a copy of the order from New Hampshire: Do You Have Concerns with […]
Job Titles:
- Merril Lynch Investment Adviser
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- Legal Action over NC Advisor
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- Alabama Financial Advisor
Paul Zirakian (CRD# 2311324) has been embroiled in customer disputes that previously settled. According to his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck report, last accessed on December 8, 2021, Mr. Zirakian is a broker and investment adviser registered with Ameriprise Financial Services in The Villages, Florida. Complaints: Zirakian Breached his Fiduciary Duty, Recommended Unsuitable Investments […]
Rodney Westlake (CRD 493339) and Witters & Westlake Financial have entered into a consent order with the state of Kentucy. In Kentucky, the Department of Financial Institutions has jurisdiction over the Securities Act of Kentucky. Here is a copy of the order: Print this Article
Ron Yount (CRD# 4815981) is involved in a pending customer complaint alleging he misrepresented an annuity investment. According to his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck report, last accessed on December 17, 2021, Mr. Yount is currently registered with Copper Financial in Kansas City, Missouri. Investor: Ron Young Misrepresented Unsuitable Variable Annuity FINRA records list one […]
Job Titles:
- Stifel Nicolaus & Company Broker