Frederick Levine, formerly of Oppenheimer & Co., Suspended Three Months from Securities Industry
Have you lost money with financial advisor Frederick Levine of Florham Park, New Jersey? We are investigating allegations made by FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, against Frederick Scott Levine. FINRA suspended Levine from the securities industry for three months and fined him $5,000 after he was alleged to have engaged in short-term trading of Unit Investment Trusts (or UITs) in customer accounts.
UITs are not designed for short-term trading because of their commissions and costs of trading. Between July 2011 and November 2014, Frederick Levine recommended on about 950 occasions that his customers sell their UITs and then purchase new, different UITs. FINRA alleged this to be unsuitable in view of the frequency and costs of trading, which can be as high as 3.95%.
Frederick Levine was a financial advisor and registered representative of Oppenheimer & Co. from 2002 to November 2014. Levine was also affiliated with RBC Capital Markets from November 2014 to the present. He worked at branch offices in Florham Park, New Jersey.
Brokerage firms like Oppenheimer & Co. and Stifel Nicolaus have a responsibility to adequately supervise all representatives who are registered through their firm. Brokerage firms also must take steps to ensure that their financial advisors follow all securities rules and regulations, as well as internal firm policies. When brokerage firms fail to adequately supervise their registered representatives, they may be liable for investment losses sustained by customers.
Israels & Neuman PLC is a securities and investment fraud law firm with offices in Denver, Colorado; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Seattle, Washington; and Phoenix Arizona. We represent investors in FINRA arbitration in all 50 states, including New Jersey. Our attorneys have represented over one thousand investors against many firm, including against Oppenheimer & Co. and RBC.