FINRA Arbitration Award for Unsuitable Investments

According to Investment News, an investor won a $357,000 FINRA arbitration award against Wells Fargo Advisors for unsuitable energy and housing investments.

These reports indicate that Anthony J. Pryor claimed fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty and negligent supervision, among other causes of action. According to FINRA, the claim involved “investments in unspecified energy and housing products, and use of a margin line of credit.”

FINRA awarded Mr. Pryor $357,000 in compensatory damages plus 8.75% interest on that amount from March 25, 2016, until March 2, 2017. Mr. Pryor initially sought $1 million in damages but at the close of the hearings, which ran from Feb. 28 through March 2, he requested $413,254.74.

Wells Fargo denied the allegations. In addition, the firm sought to have the claim expunged from the FINRA BrokerCheck record of its adviser, Jeffrey R. Wilson, who was not a party in the claim. FINRA said that Wells Fargo “did not pursue its request for expungement” and made no ruling on it.

According to FINRA Brokercheck, Jeffrey R. Wilson was registered with Morgan Stanley in Las Cruces, NM from06/01/2009 – 06/02/2014 prior to working for his current employer, Wells Fargo Advisors. According to FINRA BrokerCheck, Wilson has three customer disputes disclosed on his record, two of which have been settled. One of the settlements, for $250,000 in May 2016, involved allegations of “unsuitable energy and other investments.”

Failure to Supervise

Brokerage firms are required to adequately supervise their advisors. They must ensure they are complying with FINRA rules.

When brokers abuse client accounts and conduct transactions that violate securities laws, the brokerage firm they are working with may be liable for investment losses. Brokerage firms that fail to monitor the business activities of their employees may be liable for investment losses.

The brokerage firms can be held responsible for any losses in a FINRA arbitration claim if it is determined that they failed to properly supervise their agent.

Free Consultation

If you suffered losses investing with Jeffrey R. Wilson, the attorneys at The White Law Group may be able to help you. For a free consultation, please call (888) 637-5510.

The foregoing information, which is all publicly available, is being provided by The White Law Group.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Franklin, Tennessee. For more information, please visit our website, www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.