A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitrator has ruled that Raymond James must pay $26,634 in damages and interest, as well as $30,000 in attorney, experts and filing fees, to a client for unsuitable securities recommendations. This is according to a spokesman for the client’s law firm, Mark A. Tepper P.A. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The award stems from a claim the law firm filed with Finra on behalf of a 56-year-old single woman the firm said had limited investment knowledge and experience.
The complaint alleged that the woman was “dependent on her brokers, who took advantage of her trust by making unsuitable recommendations to buy, and then to hold, high-risk leveraged oil and gas securities that she did not understand.”
Raymond James had requested that the complaint be expunged from the Central Registration Depositary records of the woman’s Raymond James-affiliated brokerage, San Diego-based William Michael Council, which the Finra mediator denied. Instead, the brokerage was ordered to pay pre-judgement interest on the claimant’s losses in the investment holdings—BreitBurn Energy Partners LP and LINN Energy LLC/LinnCo LLC.
The law firm said that post-judgement interest would continue to accrue until Raymond James paid the amount of the award in full.
The Tepper law firm is also investigating alleged claims against other brokerage firms that recommended the same energy investments without fully informing their clients of the associated risk.
Mark A. Tepper represents investors suffering investment losses as a result of stockbroker fraud, investment fraud and other securities violations.
Raymond James is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Fla.