Rex Securities Law Investment Fraud Attorney Investigates Cetera Financial Group – Lawsuits, Arbitrations and Customer Disputes

Last Updated: March 2025

Cetera Financial Group Investigation Summary

Here’s what you need to know about El Segundo, CA, headquartered brokerage firm Cetera Financial Group:

• Name: Cetera Financial Group
• Function: Stock Brokerage Firm/ Financial Advisory Firm
• Location: 40 Branch Locations nationwide.
• Number of Registered Representatives: Over 9,000
• Cetera Advisors CRD 10299, Cetera Advisor Network CRD 13572, Cetera Investment Services CRD 15340, Cetera Financial Specialists CRD 10358
• Can Cetera be sued in FINRA arbitration: Yes
• Sanctioned by Securities Regulators: Yes- Many times, by state and federal regulators as well as self-regulatory agencies, see below.
• Cetera Financial Group refers to the network of independent retail firms encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors LLC, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Cetera Investment Services LLC (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions or Cetera Investors), and Cetera Financial Specialist LLC,

Discuss your case with experienced investment fraud lawyer Bob Rex at (877) 224-3199 for a free consultation.

Did You Lose Money With A Broker Who is Registered with Cetera ?

Individual stockbrokers/financial advisors (referred to as registered representatives in the industry) are required to be registered with a FINRA registered broker dealer. Often times that broker will operate under a “doing business as” (dba) name rather than under the name of the FINRA registered broker dealer where he or she is registered. For example, broker John Doe may be registered with Cetera (or any of the other thousands of FINRA registered broker dealers nationwide) but his financial services business might be known in the local community as John Doe Financial Services or John Doe Investment Planning, etc.

Should you have a claim for stockbroker malpractice, fraud or negligence for the mishandling of your account, the broker dealer that the stockbroker is registered with is liable for those losses under theory that a principal is liable for the damages caused by his agents acting within the scope of their employment.

If your Cetera broker or financial advisor causes damages due to the mishandling of your account, Cetera can be held liable.

See “How to Research Your Broker-What is a CRD?” for instructions on how to access FINRA and SEC regulatory records and learn more about a broker or a broker-dealer firm.

What is FINRA arbitration?

Cetera Has A Lengthy History of Regulatory Violations

• The Cetera companies have been disciplined numerous times over the years by state and federal securities regulatory agencies, including the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority( FINRA ), the U.S. Securiites & Exchange Commission, and the North American Securities Association (NASAA) for violations of industry rules as well as state and federal securities laws.
• Cetera Advisors has 14 regulatory disclosures on their FINRA record These violations have resulted in millions in fines and restitution.
• Cetera Advisor Networks discloses 36 regulatory matters on their FINRA record. Recently, in 8/2024, they were fined $4.5 million by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for failures related to the supervision of their agents.
• Cetera Investment Services discloses 14 regulatory matters on their FINRA record as does Cetera Financial Specialists.

Rex Securities Law Investigations of Registered Representatives Who Have Worked for Cetera

Last Name – A

• Alexander, Erik – Issaquah, WA
• Alonzo, Eliab – McAllen, TX
• Azizi, Marco – San Jose, CA
• Azizi, Moe – San Jose, CA

Last Name – B

• Bachelor, Ingrid – Coral Springs, FL
• Becker, David Michael – Waterloo, IA
• Barancyk, Chad – Naples, FL & Chicago, IL
• Barrand, Mark – Denver, CO
• Bergdahl, Bradley – Cando, ND
• Bowen, Heath – Idaho Falls, ID
• Bowman, Brandon – San Antonio, TX
• Brady, Brock – Bellevue, WA
• Breton, Bernard – Parker, CO
• Brooks, Martin – Lee’s Summit, MO
• Brown, Richard – Fort Myers, FL
• Buonanno, Michael – East Northport, NY
• Burns, Robert Edward – Greenwood Village, CO

Last Name – C

• Calhoun, Pamela – Newnan, GA
• Carlton, Bill – Bellevue, WA
• Carter, Nicholas – Rockville, MD
• Chien, Leo – Alhambra, CA
• Coggeshall, Conrad – Scottsdale, AZ
• Collins, Bill – Troy, MI
• Connor, Timothy – Redwood City, CA
• Conrad, Gilbert – Lewiston, NY
• Cook, Joshua – Vernal, UT
• Corona, Bryan – Alpharetta, GA

Last Name – D

• Debbagh, Mohamed – Boca Raton, FL
• Dow, Rodrick – Houston, TX

Last Name – E

• Ealy, Thomas – Mahomet, IL
• Emerson, Craig – Greenwood, CO
• Everett, Brian – Dallas, TX

Last Name – F

• Fagan, Robert – San Diego, CA
• Feldman, Brad – San Antonio, TX
• Fernando, Gihan – Houston, TX
• Francisco, Gina – Ocala, FL
• Ffriend, Ivan – New Rochelle, NY

Last Name – G

• Gaffney, John – Wildwood, FL
• Gay, Ben – Dillard, GA
• Gillelen, Mark – Redwood City, CA
• Grano, Christopher – Islandia, NY
• Graves, Jeff – Addison, TX
• Green, Joshua – New Port Richey, FL
• Groom, Kendall – Fresno, CA

Last Name – H

• Harbus, Rick – Long Beach, CA
• Harris, Brion – Annapolis, MD
• Hayne, James – Mansfield, TX
• Heimann, Abraham – Alpharetta, GA
• Henderson, Lillian – Huntsville, AL
• Henson, Rebecca – Bradenton, FL
• Hickman, Christopher – Delray Beach, FL
• Hobbs, Joey – Dallas TX & Edmond, OK
• Holland, John – Charleston, West Virginia
• Huggett, Spencer – Webster, SD
• Hughes, Travis – El Paso, TX
• Hutchinson, Dave – Phoenix, AZ

Last Name – I

• Ingram, Donnie – Winter Haven, FL

Last Name – J

• Jin, Jeff Cheng – The Woodlands, TX

Last Name – K

• Kane, Michael – Plano, TX
• Klaass, Peter – Idaho Falls, ID
• Kluksdal, David – Boise, ID
• Komischke, Xiao Qin (Sarah) – New York, NY
• Kozak, Scott – Highland Ranch, CO

Last Name – L

• Lawler, Steve –  Naples, FL
• LeBlanc, Jason – Fulshear, TX
• Lofton, Andrew – Franklin, TX
• Lohm, Keith – Pittsburg, PA
• Loyd, Kevin – Town and County, MO

Last Name – M

• Makhharia, Atul – Lexington, SC
• Mantei, Ricky – Lexington, SC
• Mapes, Damon – Hillsboro, OR
• McCloskey, Richard – Newport Beach, CA
• McConnell, Charlotte – Fort Collins, CO
• McKinney, Greg – Tulsa, OK
• McLean, Derek – Orange, CA
• Menard, Ronald – Baton Rouge, LA
• Mendez, Raul – Eagle Pass, TX
• Metcalf, Ronnie – Greenville, SC
• Meyers, Jeffrey – Overland Park, KS
• Mitsuda, Jason – Honolulu, HI
• Moore, David – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
• Morris, Tony – El Paso, TX
• Mostero, Sean – Torrance, CA

Last Name – N

• Nicosia, Gerard – Hauppauge, NY
• Nielson, Mike – Greenwood Village, CO

Last Name – P

• Pandis, Andrew – Forest Hills, NY
• Pittman, Richard – Memphis, TN
• Puhl, Harold – Leander, TX

Last Name – R

• Rascon, Juan – Houston, TX
• Reo, David – Wyantskill, NY
• Rhodes, David – Bryan, TX
• Rigoni, Victor – Lake Forest, IL
• Robbins, Norm – Boca Raton, FL

Last Name – S

• Schmidt, Brent – Delano, MN
• Secor, Stanley – Salt Lake City, UT
• Shaw, David – Manasquan, NJ
• Shoup, Scott – Sewickley, PA
• Smith, Marianne O’Shee – Avon, CT
• Smith, Stephen – Fort Myers, FL
• Sosa, David – Miami, FL
• Stoll, Amber – Overland Park, KS
• Stucke, Matt – Milton, GA
• Strunc, David – Orlando, FL
• Sprague, Jeffery – Bingham Farms, MI

Last Name – T

• Tang, Clara – Cupertino, CA
• Taylor, Eszylfie –  Pasadena, CA
• Tevebaugh, Mark – Harbour Beach, FL
• Toifel, Trey – Fairhope, AL

Last Name – V

• Van Lott, Brent – Orem, Ut
• Vismor, Dan – Boca Raton, FL

Last Name – W

• Wade, Kenneth – Austin, TX
• Walker, Casey – Tooele, UT
• Wang, Fei – Sugar Land, TX
• Weldon, C. Raymond – Boca Raton, FL
• Wells, Nathan – Morrison, IL
• Westbrook, Bob – Scottsdale, AZ
• Williams, Mark – Carmel by the Sea, CA
• Wu, Cathy – Arcadia, CA

Last Name – Y

• Yin, Haiguang “John” – City of Industry, CA
• Young, Danny – Adel, GA

Last Name – Z

• Zorn, Mark – Addison, TX

Recover Your Investment Losses at Cetera Now With Rex Securities Law

If you have suffered investment losses in an account handled by a broker or financial advisor who is currently employed by or previously worked for Cetera,  contact us for a complimentary consultation with an experience securities lawyer to learn how you may be able to recover damages through FINRA arbitration.

With offices in Boca Raton, FL and Austin, TX, stockbroker fraud attorney Bob Rex provides representation to investors nationwide who are seeking recovery of investment losses due to the negligence or fraud of stockbrokers, financial advisors and broker dealers.

If you have questions about how your account has been handled, call (877) 224-3199 to speak with an experienced securities attorney at no cost to you.

Most cases are handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.