Vincent Thomas Ferrara Jr. (CRD# 1791902) is a longtime financial advisor and stockbroker currently registered with Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC in Garden City, New York. Our firm is investigating Ameriprise broker and investment advisor Vincent Thomas Ferrara Jr. of Garden City, New York for potential tied to his prior employment at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated.
Financial Advisor’s Career History
According to his November 2025 FINRA BrokerCheck report, Vincent Thomas Ferrara Jr. has been in the securities industry since 1988 and has worked for a number of large Wall Street firms over nearly four decades.
His registration and employment history includes:
- Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC (CRD# 6363) – Registered representative and investment adviser representative based in Garden City, New York, with additional branch activity noted in Massapequa, NY. Ferrara has been registered with Ameriprise since February 2024.
- Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (CRD# 7691) – Financial advisor in Garden City, New York from approximately June 2008 through February 2024, overlapping with his role as a Bank of America, N.A. financial advisor.
- Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CRD# 7059) – Registered representative and investment adviser representative in Plainview, New York from May 2007 to June 2008.
- Citicorp Investment Services (CRD# 23988) – Held both broker and investment adviser registrations in Massapequa Park, New York from February 2007 to May 2007 (IAR) and from July 1992 to May 2007 (broker).
- Earlier broker-dealer positions – Prior registrations include Financial Horizons Securities Corporation (CRD# 20221), Pruco Securities Corporation (CRD# 5685), The Prudential Insurance Company of America (CRD# 680), J.T. Moran & Co., Inc. (CRD# 15655), and Sherwood Capital, Inc. (CRD# 10474), dating back to February 1988.
Over his career, Ferrara has passed multiple industry qualification exams, including the Series 7 General Securities Representative Examination, the SIE, the Series 24 General Securities Principal Examination, and the Series 63 and 66 state law exams.
Vincent Thomas Ferrara Jr. Fraud Allegations and Investor Complaints Explained
Ferrara’s BrokerCheck report discloses one criminal matter and three customer disputes, including a pending $2,000,000 misappropriation of funds complaint. While some matters were denied or ultimately dismissed, together they show a history of significant customer allegations stretching back to 2000.
1. Pending $2,000,000 Misappropriation of Funds Complaint (Merrill Lynch, 2025)
In September 2025, a customer lodged a written complaint against Ferrara and his former firm, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated. The complaint alleges misappropriation of funds and lists alleged damages of $2,000,000.00. The product type is reported as “No Product,” suggesting the customer is claiming that money was taken or used improperly rather than complaining about a particular investment product.
Key details include:
- Date complaint received: September 19, 2025
- Firm at time of alleged conduct: Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
- Allegations: Client alleges misappropriation of funds.
- Product type: No Product
- Alleged damages: $2,000,000.00
- Status: Complaint pending; no settlement or individual contribution reported as of the most recent update.
Because this complaint is still pending, the allegations have not been proven, and no arbitrator, court, or regulator has yet made findings about Ferrara’s liability or the amount of any recoverable damages.
2. Variable Annuity Complaint Regarding Surrender Charges and Taxes (Citicorp Investment Services, 2000)
Ferrara’s record shows a complaint from March 2000 involving a variable annuity sold through Citicorp Investment Services. The customer alleged that Ferrara failed to disclose critical costs and tax consequences tied to surrendering the annuity.
According to BrokerCheck:
- Date complaint received: March 16, 2000
- Firm: Citicorp Investment Services
- Product type: Variable annuity
- Allegations:
- The client claimed Ferrara did not inform her about surrender charges if she cashed in the annuity before a specified number of years.
- She also alleged that even though she told Ferrara the money came from the surrender of a life-insurance contract, he said there would be no tax on the money.
- Alleged damages: $6,000.00
- Status: Complaint reported as denied; no settlement amount recorded.
While the firm denied the complaint and reported no payment, the allegations raise concerns about whether the customer was fully informed of material costs, penalties, and tax implications—key disclosures for any annuity sale.
3. Unit Investment Trust Complaint Concerning “Call” Risk (Citicorp Investment Services, 2001)
BrokerCheck also reports a written customer complaint involving a unit investment trust (UIT) purchased through Citicorp Investment Services. The client alleged that Ferrara failed to warn about the possibility of the securities being “called,” leading to unexpected consequences.
The disclosure describes:
- Date complaint received: April 23, 2001
- Firm: Citicorp Investment Services
- Product type: Unit Investment Trust
- Allegations: Client alleged that “at no time was [she] ever informed that a ‘call’ order on these funds was even a remote possibility.”
- Alleged damages: $31,209.50
- Status: Complaint listed as settled, but the CRD entry shows a $0.00 settlement and individual contribution amount. The firm and broker both state that the matter is believed to have been resolved in a FINRA mediation for an unknown sum.
Even though the CRD data does not list a dollar settlement, the reference to FINRA mediation and an “unknown” sum suggests the firm may have paid something to resolve the dispute privately.
4. Criminal Charge for Possession of a Controlled Substance (Dismissed, 2011)
Ferrara’s record also includes a felony criminal charge unrelated to securities sales practice, but it nonetheless appears as a required disclosure on his regulatory record. In December 2010, he was charged in Nassau District Court with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the 5th Degree: Cocaine under New York Penal Law 220.06.
Key data from BrokerCheck:
- Charge date: December 31, 2010
- Court: Nassau District Court, Hempstead, New York
- Charge: PL 220.06 – Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the 5th Degree (Cocaine)
- Disposition: Dismissed on April 14, 2011
- Current status: Final, with dismissal noted; no conviction reported.
This matter does not involve an investment product or a customer account and was ultimately dismissed, but it is part of the public record FINRA makes available to investors.
Summary of Reported Disclosures
Based on the current BrokerCheck report for Vincent Thomas Ferrara Jr.:
- Criminal disclosures (final):
- 1 felony drug-possession charge (cocaine) filed in 2010 and dismissed in 2011.
- Customer disputes:
- 1 pending Merrill Lynch misappropriation of funds complaint alleging $2,000,000 in damages.
- 1 settled UIT complaint involving alleged failure to disclose “call” risk, with claimed damages of $31,209.50 and an unknown mediation settlement amount.
- 1 denied variable annuity complaint alleging undisclosed surrender charges and tax consequences, with claimed damages of $6,000.
Investors should understand that customer complaints and criminal disclosures may involve contested allegations that are unresolved or were ultimately dismissed, and they do not by themselves prove misconduct. Nonetheless, a pattern of disputes can signal potential issues with suitability, disclosure, and handling of client funds that warrant closer review.
Investors and families who worked with Ferrara and experienced unexplained losses, surprise taxes or surrender charges on annuities, problems with unit investment trusts, or concerns about funds being misused should consider speaking with an experienced securities attorney about their rights and potential recovery options.
To obtain a copy of Vincent Thomas Ferrara Jr.’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, visit this link
Robert Wayne Pearce Is Committed to Recovering Your Investment Losses
FINRA Rule 2111 (Suitability)
FINRA Rule 2111 requires that a broker have a reasonable basis to believe a recommendation is suitable for a customer based on that customer’s investment profile—factors such as age, financial situation, tax status, risk tolerance, and investment objectives. When customers later complain that they were never informed about surrender charges on a variable annuity or that they were not warned a unit investment trust could be “called,” regulators and arbitrators often look at whether the broker’s recommendations complied with this rule.
In Ferrara’s case, the variable annuity complaint asserts that the client was not told about surrender charges or tax consequences, and the UIT complaint alleges the client was never informed that a call order was even a remote possibility. If a broker fails to explain essential risks, costs, and features of complex products like annuities and UITs, an arbitrator could find that the recommendations were not suitable for that particular customer because they did not match the client’s objectives, time horizon, or willingness to accept illiquidity and call risk. Even when a complaint is denied or the ultimate settlement terms are unclear, these kinds of allegations are exactly the type that are commonly analyzed under Rule 2111 in FINRA arbitrations.
FINRA Rule 2150 (Improper Use of Customers’ Securities or Funds)
FINRA Rule 2150 prohibits the improper use of customer funds or securities and forbids brokers from guaranteeing customers against loss or sharing in customer accounts in ways that are not permitted by the rules. Allegations that a broker “misappropriated funds”—such as the live $2,000,000 complaint reported against Ferrara related to his former Merrill Lynch employment—go to the heart of Rule 2150.
If, for example, a broker transfers money out of a client’s account without authorization, uses customer funds for personal expenses, or reroutes proceeds that should have been returned to the client, those facts could support a finding that the broker violated Rule 2150. Depending on the evidence, a FINRA arbitration panel might award compensatory damages, interest, and in some cases attorneys’ fees or other relief. Although the misappropriation complaint against Ferrara is still pending and unproven, it raises precisely the issues that Rule 2150 is intended to address: safeguarding customer assets and preventing any misuse of those funds.
FINRA Rule 2010 (Standards of Commercial Honor and Just and Equitable Principles of Trade)
FINRA Rule 2010 is a broad ethical standard requiring brokers to observe “high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade” in the conduct of their business. Even when a particular act does not fit neatly into a narrow product-specific rule, FINRA can charge violations of Rule 2010 where a broker’s conduct is dishonest, unethical, or fundamentally unfair to customers.
Allegations that a broker misappropriated customer funds, failed to disclose key risks in UITs, or misled a client about surrender charges and tax consequences in an annuity can all be characterized as conduct falling below the standards expected under Rule 2010 if proven. Similarly, while Ferrara’s criminal case for drug possession was ultimately dismissed and did not involve client accounts, serious criminal charges can raise questions about judgment and integrity—qualities that are central to the ethical obligations embodied in Rule 2010. In regulatory or arbitration proceedings, investors’ counsel often pairs specific rules like 2111 and 2150 with Rule 2010 to emphasize that the broker’s overall pattern of conduct failed to meet the industry’s minimum ethical standards.
For over 45 years, Robert Wayne Pearce has helped investors recover losses caused by negligence, and unsuitable recommendations. His firm, The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., represents clients nationwide on a no-recovery, no-fee basis. Call (800) 732-2889 or email pearce@rwpearce.com for a free case review with an experienced securities attorney.
