FINRA recently announced that Alan Frank Pacella (CRD#1689031) (a VFinance Investments, Inc financial advisor in Boca Raton, Florida ) has been censured and fined $10,000. Without admitting or denying the allegations, Pacella consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that he participated in the sale of unregistered securities. The findings stated that Pacella, before entering sales orders, relied on his member firm’s compliance department to review whether the shares were freely tradable. The findings also stated that the compliance department conducted its tradability review in the ordinary course of business and incorrectly approved the securities for public resale, even though the shares were restricted. The findings also included that Pacella had or should have had the company’s Articles of Incorporation and press release, thereby allowing him to determine that the securities were not registered for public sale and not subject to an exemption.
According to Alan Pacella’s CRD, prior to working as a financial advisor at VFinance Investments, Inc., Pacella was registered as a financial advisor with SMH Capital, Inc., Capital Growth Financial, LLC, and PMK Securities & Research, Inc.
If you have any questions about investments you made with Alan Pacella, or if you believe that you have been the victim of a securities fraud, the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A. may be able to help. David A. Carter is a South Florida securities fraud attorney based in Boca Raton, Florida. He reviews securities fraud cases throughout the country and Florida, including securities fraud cases in Deerfield Beach, Plantation, Parkland, Lighthouse Point, Highland Beach, Pompano Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. To contact us, please call us at 561-750-6999 or send an email to contact@carterpa.com. For more information on the firm, please visit http://www.carterpa.com.