Problem Brokers

JP Morgan Securities LLC Financial Advisor and Broker Michael Oppenheim Charged with $20 Million Fraud by SEC

April 21, 2015 | Malecki Law Team

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on April 16, 2015 that it filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that Michael J. Oppenheim defrauded former clients out of $20 million dollars. Mr. Oppenheim was previously employed and licensed to recommend the purchase and sale of securities by JP Morgan Securities LLC, according to his publicly available FINRA CRD Report.

According to the SEC’s announcement and complaint, Mr. Oppenheim used his position as a financial advisor to convince two former clients to withdraw approximately $12 million from their accounts and give the money to him upon false promises that the money would be invested in “safe and secure municipal bonds for their accounts.” However, the SEC complaint alleges that Mr. Oppenheim instead invested the ill-gotten money into either his own brokerage account or that of his wife, and subsequently lost the bulk of the funds in a risky options trading strategy.

The SEC complaint goes on to allege that after losing the investors’ money, he created fake account statements to make it look as though the money was not lost. He also allegedly transferred money between other investors’ accounts to replenish money he stole earlier. In total, the SEC complaint alleges that approximately $20 million was taken from Mr. Oppenheim’s clients’ accounts from March 2011 through October 2014, which, if true, would have been while he was licensed by JP Morgan Securities LLC to recommend securities transactions to public investors.

MetLife Broker Andre Paul Young Suspended By FINRA

April 16, 2015 | Malecki Law Team

A Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent was recently accepted by FINRA’s Department of Enforcement from Andre Paul Young. Mr. Young was accused of borrowing more than $200,000 from customers in violation of FINRA rules while a registered representative of MetLife Securities, Inc. Specifically, Mr. Young was accused of violating NASD Rule 2370, FINRA Rule 3240 and FINRA Rule 2010.

It was alleged that from June 2010 through June 2012, Mr. Young borrowed roughly $208,000 from two MetLife Securities customers for personal expenses, including those associated with the settlement of certain estate matters. Per the AWC, the customers issued five checks from their MetLife Securities brokerage account payable to a bank account number for an account owned by Mr. Young.

Per FINRA, this conduct was in violation of MetLife Securities policies and FINRA Rules. FINRA Rule 3240 (and formerly NASD Rule 2370) expressly prohibits brokers from borrowing funds from customers. In addition to those violations, Mr. Young allegedly failed to timely and completely respond to requests for documents and information in violation of FINRA Rule 8210.

White House Takes a Closer Look at Brokers Who Manage Retirement Accounts

January 23, 2015 | Malecki Law Team

A memo drafted by Jason Furman, one of President Obama’s top economic advisors, entitled “Draft Conflict of Interest Rule for Retirement Savings” was reportedly obtained by Bloomberg News.

The memo cites research that says investors may lose between $8 billion and $17 billion per year as a result of stockbroker/financial advisor practices, such as excessive trading commissions. That number, while astonishing, may even be an underestimate according to some people.

As a result, some on Capitol Hill are calling for stricter rules on Wall Street.

Maxwell B. Smith Sentenced for Running a New Jersey Ponzi Scheme: Investors Should Look to His Brokerage Firm for Relief

June 12, 2013 | Malecki Law Team

Maxwell B. Smith was sentenced to serve the next seven years in federal prison for operating a $9 million Ponzi scheme. Maxwell sold investments as a fund that made loans to nursing homes. Smith had previously plead guilty to several counts of mail fraud as well as money laundering.

It is believed that Smith was employed as a financial professional at several financial firms in New Jersey, where he provided financial advice to his clients, many of whom may have lost money to his Ponzi scheme, Health Care Financial Partners (“HCFP”), purportedly a fund with hundreds of millions of dollars in assets. Investors even received a prospectus guaranteeing 7.5% to 9% per year, tax free. Investors could buy bonds in amounts ranging from $25,000 to $300,000.

Investors may not know that broker-dealers, like the ones that it is believed registered Mr. Smith, have a duty to supervise their employees. As a result, in situations like these, investors may be entitled to recover against the financial firms that employed the financial advisor for failing to supervise their employee.