Investor Alert: Christopher Ariola

Have you suffered losses investing with Christopher Ariola, and Bay Mutual Financial? If so, the attorneys at The White Law Group may be able to help.

According to FINRA, a complaint was recently filed against Christopher Ariola (CRD# 2957096, Santa Monica, CA). In the complaint, FINRA alleges that from late December 2011 through July 2012, while Ariola was purportedly registered with Bay Mutual Financial, LLC (”BMF”), Ariola allegedly recommended that three elderly retirees invest a substantial portion of their limited retirement assets in certain gold and energy stocks. FINRA argues that these recommendations were unsuitable given these customers’ financial circumstances, investment objectives, and low risk tolerances, and because the recommendations resulted in these customers’ accounts being unduly concentrated in gold and energy stocks.

During the same period, Ariola purportedly made similar unsuitable recommendations with respect to a former BMF customer’s TD Ameritrade retirement account that Ariola controlled on the former customer’s behalf. As a result of his unsuitable recommendations, FINRA claims that these four customers suffered a combined total of approximately $140,000 in realized losses and Ariola violated NASD Rule 2310 and FINRA Rule 2010. FINRA further alleges that while Ariola was registered with BMF, he obtained access to a former BMF customer’s TD Ameritrade retirement account and engaged in securities trading in that account on the customer’s behalf without providing the required written notice of such outside brokerage account to his employing firm, BFM, or of his registered status with BMF to TD Ameritrade. As a result of the foregoing, Ariola also allegedly violated NASD Rule 3050(c) and FINRA Rule 2010.

For FINRA’s full findings, see FINRA Case # 2012034139101

According to his FINRA BrokerCheck, Ariola was registered with Financial Telesis, Inc in Aliso Viejo, CA from 11/2012 – 09/2014 and Bay Mutual Financial, LLC in Santa Monica, CA from 09/2004 – 09/2012.

The foregoing information, which is all publicly available on FINRA’s website, is being provided by The White Law Group. The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Franklin, Tennessee. For more information on the firm and it’s representation of investors, visit http://whitesecuritieslaw.com.