September 2019- Chatham, NJ

According to publicly available records  Michael Bressman ,  a  currently unregistered stockbroker, who was last registered with FCG Advisors,  discloses a pending investigation, a pending civil event, a pending criminal event,  two prior regulatory events, a pending customer dispute, 4 prior customer disputes  and  terminations from employment.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the agency that licenses and regulates stockbrokers and brokerage firms. FINRA requires brokers and brokerage firms to report customer complaints and disputes as well as regulatory sanctions. In addition brokers are required to disclose certain financial matters such as personal bankruptcies, judgments and liens.

In 9/2018 Bressman was charged with investment advisor fraud, a felony, in Federal Court in Massachusetts.  Case# 18cr 10315. In June 2019, Bressman pleaded guilty to defrauding clients by engaging in a cherry-picking scheme, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. Pursuant to the plea deal, the government recommended a sentence of 24-40 months.

In 9/2018 the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed case # 1:18cv11925 in Federal Court with the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts alleging the following against Michael A. Bressman.  “This case involves a fraudulent “cherry picking” scheme carried out by Bressman in his role as a securities broker.   From at least January 2012 through February 2018, Bressman  secretly misused his access to his customers’ brokerage accounts to enrich himself and two of his family members at the expense of his customers- most of whom were “Main Street” investors with relatively modest investment portfolios.   As a result of his deceptive scheme, Bressman received at least $700,000 in ill-gotten gains.  Cherry-picking occurs when a broker, who buys and sells securities on behalf of his brokerage customers, defrauds those customers by purchasing stock and then waiting to see whether the price of the stock goes up, or down, before allocating the trade.    If the stock goes up, the broker keeps the trade for himself or a set of “favored” accounts.   If the stock goes down, the broker puts the trades into other disfavored customer accounts.   In other words, the broker “cherry-picks” the profitable trades for himself or certain favored accounts, while giving unprofitable trades to his other customers. “ That case is still pending.

In February of 2018 the United States Securities and Exchange Commission initiated an investigation that is still pending.   “Mr. Bressman was accused of, among other things, misusing the firm’s allocation account in connection with his personal trades.”

Michael Bressman worked for FCG Advisors from 2/ 2000 until May 2018 when Bressman was discharged from FCG Advisors after allegations were made that accused him of, among other things, misusing the Firm’s allocation account in connection with his personal trades.

Bressman was discharged by Merrill Lynch in 1/2000 after it was alleged by a customer that he had traded her account without her authorization.

If you have questions about an investment account handled by Michael Bressman, contact us for a no charge consultation to learn about your legal options.

Rex Securities Law , with offices in Boca Raton, FL,  and  Austin, TX,   provides representation to  investors  nationwide who are seeking recovery of investment losses due to the negligence or fraud of stockbrokers and broker dealers. If you have questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney.

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

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