Eccleston Law Blog

SEC Alerts Financial Advisory Firms to Their Failure to Protect Clients From Identity Theft

December 20th, 2022 at 1:15 PM
Financial advisory firms are failing to design and maintain effective policies and procedures to restrict hackers from stealing clients’ personal and confidential information, according to a risk alert published by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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Former LPL Advisor Arrested On Theft Charges

December 19th, 2022 at 2:14 PM
Bradley Goodbred, a former LPL advisor who was recently charged with theft by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), was arrested by suburban Chicago police last week. 
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Eccleston Law LLC Investigates Fallout at Firms Fined by the SEC Over Electronic Communications

December 16th, 2022 at 1:34 PM
The SEC charged several broker-dealers with failure to maintain and preserve electronic communications, including text messages, assessing over $1 billion in fines.  According to the SEC press release, “The firms admitted the facts set forth in their respective SEC orders, acknowledged that their conduct violated recordkeeping provisions of the federal securities laws, agreed to pay combined penalties of more than $1.1 billion, and have begun implementing improvements to their compliance policies and procedures to settle these matters.”
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Former GWG CEO Resigns From Board

December 16th, 2022 at 1:27 PM
GWG Holdings announced its bankruptcy earlier this year, which has resulted in the resignations of multiple members of its board of directors. 
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FINRA Issues $1.3 Million Penalty To Advisor Group Over Private Placement Sales

December 15th, 2022 at 3:32 PM
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has issued a $1.3 million fine to the four Advisor Group firms, FSC Securities, Royal Alliance Associates, SagePoint Financial, and Woodbury Financial Services, for selling private placements issued by GPB Capital Holdings.
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Sam Bankman-Fried Charged by SEC With Fraud Over FTX Collapse

December 14th, 2022 at 3:21 PM
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried with eight criminal counts, including conspiracy and wire fraud, for allegedly misappropriating billions of dollars in customer funds. 
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Morgan Stanley Ordered to Pay $11.7 Million Over Unauthorized Covered Call Strategy

December 13th, 2022 at 3:16 PM
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has ordered Morgan Stanley to pay a former client $11.7 million over an allegedly unauthorized call options strategy.
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Hartman vREIT XXXI Releases “Going Concern” Warning

December 12th, 2022 at 2:51 PM
Hartman vREIT XXXI, a non-traded real estate investment trust, has announced its management’s “substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”, according to its most recent quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 
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FINRA Reminds Firm To Monitor For “Red Flags” In Options Trading Applications

December 9th, 2022 at 12:16 PM
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has released an announcement reminding firms that recommend options trading for clients to be constantly monitoring for “red flags” on customer applications.
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FINRA Orders Morgan Stanley to Pay $697,897 Over Failure to Supervise Nine Advisors

December 8th, 2022 at 2:48 PM
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has ordered Morgan Stanley to pay $697,897, including a $200,000 fine and $497,897 in restitution, for failing to adhere to its own procedures for supervising its advisors’ high-risk recommendations. 
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If the regulators are after you, and are trying to make a case against you, and you are going to contest their allegations against you, make sure you have the best securities industry defense lawyers, Eccleston Law Firm. My case was spun into a combination of penalties including fines, cash settlements, CE courses and suspension. They were the best I have seen in action. When all was said and done, they had done their magic, my situation was negotiated and settled with a simple "letter of caution" and a case closed without action. It is the most important legal business decision you will ever make, make it Eccleston Law.

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LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

January 16, 2026
SEC Signals Sweeping IPO Rule Changes to Ease Path for Smaller Companies

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to overhaul its public offering framework to make it easier for smaller companies to access the public markets, according to remarks SEC Chairman Paul Atkins delivered at the New York Stock Exchange, as reported by Bloomberg Law.

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January 14, 2026
FINRA Fines and Suspends Wells Fargo Advisor Over Fictitious Expense Claims

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined and suspended a Wells Fargo Advisors representative in Waco, Texas, after finding that he submitted fictitious business expense claims, according to a FINRA Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) letter.