After the broker lost all my money, I did not know where to turn. A friend told me about Joseph Fogel. I called, and he got me in right away. He told me that I was not the only one done this way, and he would work on my case himself. He did, and now I can stay in my home.

L. D., a client

The broker came to my job and sold us all on her plan; retire, and make more from our investments. Now, many of us are looking for jobs again, wherever we can find them. But Fogel brought us all together in a case, saved us money, and got the result we needed. The best thing I did in this whole thing was to call Fogel.

B. D., a client

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Helping People Who have Been Harmed by Stock Broker Misconduct

pen If you believe that your broker put your money in investments that were too risky, such as variable annuities, didn’t follow your instructions, committed retirement investment fraud, or earned too many commissions by overtrading your account, we can help.

Most people who have lost their investments and retirement money do not even consider that they were dealing with a bad stockbroker. When stocks go up, the brokers claim it’s a sign of their skill and resources. But when you lose money, the brokers usually say that losses are caused by market risk. Stocks do go up and down in price, but some stock losses are the result of stock broker misconduct.

Over the years, we have spoken to hundreds of people who have been harmed by stock brokers and financial advisors. We’ve helped some of those people get some or all of their money back. Most of the time, we can tell you over the phone whether or not we may be able to help you.

Investigations
Blog
Case Studies
Articles

Marc Winters of Wedbush Morgan Securities, Inc. in Los Angeles, California
FINRA announced it would be suspending registered representative Marc Winters for 90 days for doctoring information on their member firm's books to contain incorrect information. Though FINRA's most recent decision was announced in September 2009, the investigation stems from a 2006 investigation from the National Investigation of Securities Dealers. (more)

Joseph Wilbur Richard Ashwill of Wedbush Morgan Securities in Newport Beach, CA
In November 2009, Joseph Wilbur Richard Ashwill was suspended for five months by the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency for violating broker ethical conduct rules. The Registered Supervisor, who is currently employed by Wedbush Morgan Securities in Newport Beach, California, had allegedly altered official financial documents to conceal that he was the beneficiary of an account. (more)

Jason Read Richmond of Los Angeles, CA, formerly of Samuels Chase & Co
In August 2009, the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency (FINRA) announced they had ordered the permanent bar of Jason Read Richmond, a registered principal who had been employed by Samuels Chase & Co. since 1996. In FINRA’s full disciplinary report of the broker, Richmond allegedly fabricated trade confirmations so he could illegally benefit from class action lawsuits. (more)

Douglas Richard Smith of Financial Advisers of America in Newbury Park, CA
Douglas Richard Smith was terminated from his position at Independent Financial Group in January 2008, after it was alleged the registered principal had forged his client’s signature in order to complete an unauthorized variable annuity transaction. FINRA launched its own investigation on the matter in August 2009, claiming Smith had liquidated variable annuity account in order to purchase another variable annuity without his client’s consent. (more)

Jacob Karamian of Glendale, CA, formerly of Washington Mutual Financial Services
Jacob Karamian was given a lifetime bar from FINRA in July 2009, in which he was prohibited from associating with any member firm or broker in any capacity. According to FINRA, Karamian in March 2007 caused a customer to wire transfer $281,768 to a third-party account, though the customer had never given consent. (more)

Merrill Lynch Ordered To Pay Roughly $1.2 Million To Retired Baseball Player
Doug Mirabelli was a catcher for the Boston Red Sox between 2004 and 2007. He was well known for being able to handle the tricky and unpredictable knuckleball thrown by teammate Tim Wakefield. That experience may have helped him deal with Merrill Lynch after he sued them for failing to properly diversify his portfolio. (more)

A Stock Broker’s Most Important Skill
When we talk to our clients about their experiences with their brokers, especially at the firms such as Merrill Lynch, Citibank, and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, they often express a sense of betrayal. They ask questions such as, “How could he (or she) does this to us?” or “How could they have lost us tens of thousands of dollars and then not even return or calls?” (more)

Morgan Stanley Fined $1 Million For Excessive Markups
Morgan Stanley has been ordered to pay $371,000 (including interest) in excessive markups and markdowns for corporate and municipal bond transactions. FINRA (formerly the National Association of Securities Dealers) also fined Morgan Stanley $1 million. (more)

The MF Capital Disaster
It is harder and harder to be shocked by news of monkey business at our largest financial institutions. But somehow, what MF Capital, the firm headed by former Goldman Sachs head and former New Jersey Governor and United States Senator Jon Corzine, is accused of doing, still manages to be shocking. (more)

MF Capital Debacle Inspires Regulation That Jon Corzine Opposed
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has proposed finalizing a rule that would limit the ability of brokerage houses to borrow their customer’s funds and use them to invest in foreign debt. (more)

Nest Egg to Goose Egg in no Time
Los Angeles Times, December 17, 2006
This front-page article in the Sunday LA Times describes the $22 million dollar award a group of Exxon Mobil retirees received after suing a broker who invested in variable annuities and lost most of their retirment 401(k) accounts . The article also mentions a similar case Fogel & Associates handled in California's Central Valley on behalf of retired telecommunications workers. (more)

Recovering The Million Dollar Inheritance That Lasted One Year

Our client‘s father worked a lifetime and left him more than $1,000,000 when he passed. The $1,000,000 account took 11 months to go to zero. We were able to show that the broker had exerted control over the account (at times) and had permitted the customer's wild speculative trading to take place without any concern from the broker or brokerage firm. (more)

Fixing a Pension Conversion That Went Wrong

Within a year and half of retiring and working with the stockbroker, the account hit zero. Our client had no job and no retirement savings. We went after the brokerage house that failed to supervise the broker. At mediation, the brokerage house paid to undo the damage. (more)

Restoring our Client’s Retirement Losses

After our client worked for more than 30 years to grow her 401(k) account, she was directed to an investment advisor. Much of her money was then placed into two stocks, which lost more than 50% of their value in the next 2 months. We sued the financial advisor and the investment company. (more)

Merrill Lynch Fined $1 Million For Failing To Supervise A Broker Who Operated A Ponzi Scheme
Financial Industry Regulator Authority
In October 2011, The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (formerly known as the National Association of Securities Dealers) fined Merrill Lynch $1 million for failing to adequately monitor the activities of broker Bruce Hammonds, who worked out of a Merrill Lynch branch office in San Antonio. (more)

Merrill Lynch Ordered To Pay $8.1 Million in FINRA Arbitration
On Wall Street
In July 2011, an arbitration panel of The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ordered Merrill Lynch to pay $8.1 million for breaching its fiduciary duty to Staton Family Investments, Ltd. The complaint against Merill Lynch relates to their seizure of 1.26 million shares of common stock of Duke Realty Corporation. (more)

Wary Investors Are Seeking Out Other Voices
The Wall Street Journal, by By ANNE TERGESEN and JANE J. KIM
Some people are leaving stock brokers for registered investment advisors, but investors must beware (more)

Brokerage firms feel the heat from securities fraud cases
Investment News, by By Bruce Kelly
Brokerage firms face new liabilities for selling ponzi schemes and failing to investigate issues they pushed (more)

SEC Plays Keep-Up in High-Tech Race
The Wall Street Journal; By TOM MCGINTY and KARA SCANNELL
So, you think that the SEC is there to protect you, and is up to the task? (more)