Giovanni L. Acevedo, a former financial advisor with Voya Financial Advisors of Wilton Manors, Florida was named as Respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he converted $162,848.42 in funds belonging to customers.
The complaint alleges that Giovanni Acevedo received a customer’s check, and instead of investing the funds on the customer’s behalf, converted the funds for his own use and benefit.
Giovanni Acevedo then created a false account statement to cover up his actions. Acevedo also persuaded a customer to give him signed checks for investment, with the payee and dollar amount of the check blank. Acevedo then either cashed the checks or deposited the funds into a personal account. The complaint alleges that Acevedo repeated similar conduct with other customers, who provided Acevedo with funds for investment, which Acevedo converted for his own personal use. Finally, FINRA contends that Giovanni Acevedo provided false information in response to FINRA requests made during its investigation.
Giovanni Acevedo’s registration and disciplinary history
Giovanni Acevedo was registered with the following firms
According to FINRA’s CRD disclosure report, Giovanni Acevedo has been the subject of two customer complaints and one regulatory investigation.
The Law Office of David Liebrader practices exclusively in the field of investment loss recovery and our securities attorneys have successfully resolved over 1000 investment loss cases over the past 20 years. Recoveries for clients top $40 million. The types of claims we have successfully handled include those involving unsuitable investments (suitability claims), excessive trading or “churning”, misrepresentations and omissions, unauthorized trading, over-concentration of illiquid or overly risky investments, pump and dump scams involving “penny stocks”, direct participation programs (private placements) involving real estate investment trusts (REITS), oil and gas exploration programs, leasing equipment deals and receivable financing, promissory notes whether sold through a broker dealer or as part of the outside business activities of a registered representative, ponzi scheme losses, failure on the part of the broker dealer to perform due diligence, state securities law (blue sky) violations and failure to supervise.
Investment losses can be recovered through a process known as FINRA arbitration. FINRA regulates broker dealers that sell investments, and provides an arbitration forum to resolve investor disputes. Investors can pursue claims against their brokerage firms in the FINRA arbitration forum. Common claims in the forum are those for suitability, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentations and omissions, negligence, violation of FINRA rules, state and federal securities laws violations, elder abuse, breach of contract and failure to supervise. On average, the recovery process takes approximately a year, from start to finish.
FINRA’s rules require that all investment recommendations made by licensed financial advisors be suitable in light of a customer’s needs, objectives and risk tolerance. In addition, all registered representatives are required to be properly supervised, with periodic inspections and reviews by qualified supervisors, whose job it is to vigorously investigate suspicions of wrongdoing (red flags).
If you have suffered investment losses please call The Law Office of David Liebrader at (702) 380-3131 for a free, confidential consultation