In May, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) announced that Harold Joe Petro of Greenwood, Indiana, formerly with Merrill Lynch of Indianapolis, Indiana was suspended from association with any FINRA member for six months and fined $15,000. Petro submitted to findings that he made multiple trades in client accounts without obtaining written authorization as required by the firm. Petro solicited shares in the firm’s parent company and marked the tickets as unsolicited when in fact he had solicited the trades. As a result, he caused the firm’s books and records to inaccurately reflect the nature of the transactions, a violation of FINRA rules.
Harold Joe Petro’s registration and disciplinary history
In order to lawfully sell investments to the public, a registered rep must either be registered or exempt from registration. Harold Joe Petro was registered with Merrill Lynch from 1979 through March, 2014.
According to FINRA’s CRD disclosure report, Harold Joe Petro 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. For the past 23 years, we have dedicated our law practice to assisting investors who have been victims of investment fraud via fraudulent and unsuitable investment transactions. During that time we have recovered money for over one thousand individuals, pension plans, trusts and companies. The recoveries we have obtained via judgments, awards and settlements on behalf of our clients exceed $40,000,000.
When investors contact our firm they can expect prompt attention, and a detailed analysis of their issues. Typical claims that we are asked to review involve “unsuitability (where a financial advisor makes investment recommendations that are inconsistent with a customer’s investment objectives), claims for “churning” (where a broker enters into an excessive number of trades for the purpose of generating commissions), claims involving illiquid investments such as private placements (I.e., real estate investment trusts, limited partnerships, equipment leasing and oil and gas drilling programs) as well as claims for violations of state securities laws, which often provide investors remedies like attorney’s fees and interest, if they are successful on the claim.
If you suspect that you have been the victim of investment fraud, or had a financial advisor recommend unsuitable investments to you, call us today for a free, confidential consultation at (702) 380-3131.