brokerwatch

Representative Cases – A FINRA arbitration panel awarded $3.2 Million to an Alleghany County egg-farming family swindled in a variable annuity and life insurance scheme promoted by a former AXA financial advisor who was recently convicted for stealing from another elderly AXA client. The Whitesville, NY, victims were represented in the arbitration proceeding by the Peiffer Wolf. The award is believed to be the largest ever paid in upstate New York and also the largest imposed on AXA in arbitration. The elderly victims oversaw the successful Fitzpatrick Poultry Farm in Whitesville, NY, for many years before suffering millions of dollars in damages at the hands of AXA and its financial advisor, Francesco Puccio, formerly of Webster,  NY. Puccio was affiliated with the AXA office in Rochester.

Representative Cases – Attorneys Jason Kane and Joe Peiffer filed two securities class actions on behalf of investors in two programs sponsored by Thompson National Properties (TNP), TNP 6700 Santa Monica Boulevard (also known as “TNP Kodak”) and TNP 2008 Participating Notes.  In the complaints they filed on behalf of investors, attorneys Kane and Peiffer alleged that Thompson National Properties promoted the two programs through material misrepresentations and omissions in the programs’ offering documents.  The Defendants in the TNP 6700 Santa Monica Boulevard case were Thompson National Properties and several affiliates and principals, including Anthony “Tony” Thompson.  The Defendant in the TNP 2008 Participating Notes case was Berthel Fisher & Co. Financial Services, the underwriter of that TNP-sponsored program.

Representative Cases – The firm’s lawyers obtained an award of more than $20 Million on behalf of 32 Louisiana and Mississippi investors (32 Exxon Mobile retirees). This award is one of the top-10 FINRA awards ever given against a solvent defendant.  Ultimately, our firm represented over 150 Louisiana and Mississippi residents and settled for an amount that the defendant insisted remain confidential.  This victory was covered extensively by the media including The Wall Street Journal, Reuters News Agency, The Associated Press, The Baton Rouge Advocate, and many others.

Representative Cases – The firm’s lawyers represented several investors in connection with claims for losses involving misrepresentations and omissions relating to Securities America’s sales of Medical Capital Notes. The investors have alleged that Securities America and its representatives failed to conduct adequate due diligence on the product and ignored obvious red flags about the product prior to selling it to the investors. The investment turned out to be a Ponzi scheme and the investors lost millions of dollars. Joe Peiffer was one of three attorneys in the country selected by his peers to lead the individual claims against Securities America and Ameriprise.  As a result of the co-lead’s efforts, the Court rejected a low, no opt-out, settlement offer in lieu of their arbitration claims. Once this settlement was rejected, Securities America and Ameriprise ultimately paid over $150 Million to settle the class and individual claims.

Representative Cases – The firm represented a class of retirement investors concerning the management of their JP Morgan Chase Stable Value Fund. The firm was able to successfully reach a settlement for the investors, due to the JP Morgan’s investments in risky mortgage-backed assets. The firm argued that JP Morgan’s investing of its purportedly conservative funds in unduly risky mortgage assets violated its ERISA duties of care, skill, prudence, and diligence, etc. Recently, the case was settled on behalf of the investors for more than $70 Million.

Representative Cases – Working together with attorney Judson Lee in Mississippi, the firm represented over 100 Mississippi investors in a series of arbitrations brought against Morgan Stanley & Co. The arbitrations stemmed from the reckless actions of its Ridgeland, Mississippi office.  In prosecuting those cases, the firm obtained an award of $2.4 Million on behalf of four investors, which precipitated a significant global settlement for the remaining clients.

In 2015, Elizabeth Jachles hired our firm to represent her claim against American Portfolios, as a result of the investment advice she received at Harbor Capital Advisory Services. While the stock market saw substantial growth, Jachles earned relatively nothing on her investment portfolio. In some years, her investment expense was greater than her annual salary as a Brighton, NY schoolteacher.  Basically, the investment strategy benefited everyone except Jachles, the investor taking the risks. On 11/2/2017, a FINRA Arbitration Panel awarded Jachles $461,377.15 to be paid by American Portfolios.   The award was pursuant to the following claims by Jachles against American Portfolios: breach of fiduciary duty, violation of FINRA rules, negligence, breach of contract, aiding and abetting, unjust enrichment, and respondeat superior.