Newport Beach, California Attorney Who Sues Stockbrokers Who Breach Their Fiduciary Duty
Did John Joseph Arnold Cause You Investment Losses? John Joseph Arnold, a broker formerly employed by Newport Beach, California-based Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., submitted an Offer of Settlement in which he consented to the FINRA findings that he falsely represented that he had verbally confirmed wire requests which turned out to be fraudulent requests from a customer’s hacked email account. John Arnold allegedly claimed to a sales assistant and his member firm that two wire requests were verbally confirmed with the customer, when in fact, he had not spoken with the customer. Further, and in contravention of his firm’s rules, Mr. Arnold split the wire into two separate transfers over two consecutive days to avoid obtaining a Letter of Authorization from the customer, which was required for wire requests exceeding $50,000. FINRA found that Mr. Arnold received another email the next day requesting a wire transfer of $170,000. This time, Mr. Arnold called the customer to verbally verify the request. He found out that the customer’s email account had been hacked and that none of the wire requests had come from the customer. FINRA assessed a deferred fine of $15,000 and suspended John Arnold from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for 60 days. California has thousands of stock brokerage firms and investment advisory offices. With so many stock brokerage firms and investment advisory offices, comes the potential for their stockbrokers, financial advisors, and other representatives to breach the fiduciary duty they owe to their customers and to engage in many other kinds of stockbroker fraud and stockbroker misconduct which violates Federal and California securities laws and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) rules and stock brokerage firms policies and procedures. Experienced Lawyers Who Handle Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims In FINRA Arbitrations Throughout California and Nationwide. Are you a California investor who has suffered significant losses in your stock brokerage and investment accounts? Did your California stockbroker or investment advisor breach their fiduciary duty by misrepresenting facts about the securities, investments or strategies? Did they make unauthorized transactions in your account? Did they recommend unsuitable securities transactions or strategies? Did they mismanage the securities account over which they had discretionary authority? Did they fail to disclose all of their conflicts of interest or fail to act in your best interest? Broker-Dealer attorneys always argue to the arbitration panel they owed no fiduciary duty to customers. But in some states there are statutes spelling out the stockbroker’s fiduciary duties. If your stockbroker was also acting as an investment advisor there are Federal and state laws holding them to that fiduciary standard; i.e., to invest prudently, not speculate and always act in the customer’s best interest. Under common law, every stockbroker owes one or more of the following fiduciary duties to: not misrepresent facts; disclose all relevant and material facts; not make any unauthorized transactions; only recommend suitable investments and strategies; manage your account prudently when they take control of your account; disclose all conflicts of interest; and always act in the best interest of the customer. If you believe that your stockbroker or investment advisor acted in breach of their fiduciary duty, you will need an attorney who knows the law and exactly what fiduciary duties are owed by the stockbroker and/or investment advisor where you live. Do You Need A California Attorney Who Sues Stockbrokers Who Breach Their Fiduciary Duty? More importantly, you will need the representation of an experienced, highly rated and nationally recognized FINRA arbitration attorney — an attorney who knows FINRA rules and procedures and how to handle these FINRA arbitration cases and other complex legal issues. By hiring a top rated securities attorney like Robert Wayne Pearce with over 40 years of experience on both sides of the table in FINRA arbitration proceedings, you will clearly see that Attorney Pearce doesn’t just handle cases—he aggressively represents investors and one of the best securities lawyers to recover your investment losses for breach of fiduciary duty and all types of stockbroker fraud and stockbroker misconduct in FINRA arbitration proceedings! At The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., we represent investors with securities breach of fiduciary duty claims and many other kinds of securities law and investment disputes in FINRA arbitration and mediation proceedings. We handle a wide range of practice areas besides breach of fiduciary duty, such as claims involving securities misrepresentation and stockbroker fraud, negligence, failure to supervise, and unsuitable recommendations by stockbrokers and investment advisors. Attorney Pearce and his staff represent investors throughout California, and across the United States on a CONTINGENCY FEE basis, which means you pay nothing – NO FEES-NO COSTS – unless we put money in your pocket after receiving a settlement or FINRA arbitration award. Se habla español Free Initial Consultation With Experienced Attorneys Serving California Residents in FINRA Arbitrations Involving Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. are highly experienced attorneys who successfully handle breach of fiduciary duty claims and other investment disputes in FINRA arbitration proceedings, and who work tirelessly to secure the best possible result for you and your case. For dedicated representation by a lawyer with over 40 years of experience and success in all kinds of securities law and investment disputes in FINRA arbitrations serving California citizens, contact the firm by phone at 561-338-0037, toll free at 800-732-2889 or via e-mail.
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