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Securities and Investment Fraud

Securities and Investment Fraud

REPRESENTING U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS

Marshall Taheri, an A-V rated attorney with more than 45 years legal experience to include securities and investment fraud, is a former advocacy judge, and law professor emeritus.

We represent investors including individuals, trusts, hedge funds, and institutions, in securities arbitration and securities litigation, in claims against their brokers and brokerage firms involving securities fraud, churning, failure to execute, unsuitability, Ponzi schemes, and other disputes that arise between investors and brokerage firms. A breach of fiduciary duties occurs when financial advisors and stockbrokers put their own financial interests ahead of their clients who are trusting them with their investment funds to invest wisely. The trust is broken when the advisers fail to place their clients first and instead increase their own profits at their clients’ expense. For investors, securities fraud and negligence can be financially and emotionally devastating. Therefore, finding an experienced lawyer is imperative. Our firm possesses the knowledge and understanding to pursue your claim. We focus on representing investors who have been financially wronged by investment professionals. Further, the element of timeliness is very crucial.

We are committed to working with our clients through our utilization of strategic litigation.

Securities and investment fraud involves criminally deceiving investors in the stock or commodities markets.

Practice Areas

Our Attorneys

The Most Common Securities Fraud Claims

The most common types of fraud and negligence include the following:

May occur when a broker transfers funds from their client’s outside account to the brokerage without first receiving proper authorization from the client.

May occur when broker trading is excessive, outside their client’s financial objectives and needs, and either intentionally defrauded or acted with willful or reckless disregard to their client’s best interests.

May occur when a client is placed at high risk by the broker through excessive trades on their client’s account. Further, broker actions may include the misrepresentation of risks of a margin account and/or opening an unauthorized account in the client’s name.

May occur when a broker failed to execute the trade as instructed by their client; a trade did not happen quickly enough to achieve the desired price; or a trade failed to meet the standards of “best execution” which means that the trade was not executed in a timely manner and for the best price possible.

May occur when the brokerage firm failed to properly train the broker or did not employ a supervisor to oversee the broker’s dealings with their client, thus the brokerage firm is responsible for their client’s financial losses.

May occur when a broker and/or firm engages in unethical activities to include, embezzlement, insider trading, and/or Ponzi schemes.

May occur when a client is misled by a broker or brokerage firm whose intent is to deceive.

May occur when a broker or brokerage firm has placed their client in an unreasonable risk of harm either because of the broker or brokerage firm’s actions or lack of actions, therein not acting in the best interest of their client.

May occur when a financial adviser or brokerage firm does not sufficiently diversify their client’s assets by investing their client’s funds in one or a few stocks, a single sector of the economy, or one investment group, therefore, placing their client in a high-risk situation resulting in substantial investment losses.

May occur when a broker or firm persuades their client to buy or sell a security as a means to raise or reduce its price, and knowingly and improperly limits the number of shares available.

May occur when a broker trades his client’s securities and investments without his prior oral or written approval, save and except a few exceptions such as margin accounts.

May occur when a broker sells securities that are not offered and approved by the brokerage firm. These securities many times are high risk or fraudulent. Brokers may encourage their clients to invest in these investments which are not registered with the brokerage because of the broker’s own personal interest or gain.

May occur when a broker recommends or purchases securities that do not reflect their client’s financial investment objectives and background, therefore, not echoing the suitable financial needs of their client. Suitability may be relative to one’s stage of life and health, such as the elderly or someone facing illness. Unsuitable investment claims also include situations wherein there exists a lack of diversification in one’s portfolio which may place the investor/client at a higher risk of loss if the economy falters.

State and federal laws may apply to security fraud claims depending upon the applicable state for filing the claim, however, most security disputes must be arbitrated rather than pursued through the court system. Arbitration is a private process of seeking resolution in a disputed matter. A panel of experts reviews the evidence, assesses the claim, and issues a binding decision. Arbitrations are generally handled by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a New York based private self-regulatory organization which regulates broker-dealers and stockbrokers. Although an investor has a choice to either represent himself, herself, or pursue arbitration through legal representation, it is wise to seek competent legal counsel due to the complexity of the legal and factual sides of a case.

Contact Us

Our goal is to represent investors especially senior citizens who have lost their savings and retirement when their brokerage accounts were mishandled. Our firm represents investors nationally and internationally who are victims of misrepresentation, commission churning, unsuitable investments, unauthorized transactions, execution failures, excessive mark-ups, disappearing funds, botched transfers, unregistered brokers, unregistered securities, improper margin liquidators, broker bribes, and other wrongful acts.