Litigation

Former rep Edward L. Turley has at least five other pending arbitration cases seeking more than $62 million in damages.

The former Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo and Citigroup broker who spent five years stealing from his friends and family to live a luxurious life will now spend even longer behind bars.

Jeffrey Slothower, a former registered investment advisor and founder of Battery Private, has been charged with wire fraud, investment advisor fraud and money laundering.

The U.S. brokerage arm of the Swiss bank must pay damages under a FINRA arbitration case otherwise found to be ‘clearly erroneous.’

FINRA arbitrators tossed the case alleging negligence and fraudulent misrepresentation based on the wirehouse’s earlier settlement with the estate.

Brokerages cannot be held to the same standard as financial advisors, the fintech company argued.

The settlement follows at least three other cases involving the bank-based brokerage’s supervision this year.

The case revolved around unit investment trusts, the same product that later showed up in a major SEC enforcement action against the brokerage.

Avantax Wealth Management says it had to cancel its advisor event because of COVID. But the Nashville resort that planned to host the meeting says it’s still owed $1.3 million, despite the circumstances.

An arbitrator ordered the minuscule payment despite taking the wirehouse to task in the ruling.

Ronald T. Molo of Illinois allegedly stole money from his clients for mortgage payments, home renovations, luxury SUVs and more.

In early September, a California jury awarded former Edward Jones broker Dalas Gundersen $30 million in damages for defamation from the firm, nearly $9 million more from the two ex-colleagues.

Lina Maria Garcia, president and chief compliance officer of UCB Financial Advisers, has been charged for her alleged role in a fraud that funneled millions of dollars to her romantic partner’s parents.

Despite standout defamation awards, such as a $13.5 million payout to an ex-UBS rep, advisors and attorneys say firms are abusing their U5 power.

FINRA alleges that the firm caused clients to incur more than $2.9 million in trading costs.

Plaintiffs claim the firm’s high cash allocations juiced revenue for Schwab at the expense of client performance.

The barred ex-rep funneled clients’ money into a shell company he falsely called a sub advisor, according to investigators.

Three recent criminal cases raise concerns that wealth managers and regulators aren’t detecting alleged fraud quickly enough or disclosing basic information about crimes and disciplinary problems.

The rare move to set aside the regulator’s ruling came more than a decade after the rep ran into trouble by adding notes about his client into a software program.

The legal tussle represents the latest effort by a brokerage firm to enforce non-solicitation agreements against advisors.