J.P. Morgan Securities is suing a former advisor in what it says is an effort to hold onto the $420 million in client assets he managed before starting his own company.
The firm alleges that 64 clients and $40 million have already been recruited by Nader Joseph Al-Mooshi since he left the company in November with the support of Kestra Private Wealth Services, according to a lawsuit filed by J.P. Morgan in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, on Friday.
The lawsuit alleges that Al-Mooshi, also known as Joseph Mooshi, has been soliciting clients in violation of his employment non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements, including calling clients on their cell phones and requesting meetings with him and his new firm.
J.P. Morgan is requesting a restraining order against Al-Mooshi and his firm, Mooshi Wealth Planning & Management of Novi, Mich., while it challenges his recruitment of J.P. Morgan's clients before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra). The proceeding before a Finra arbitration could take up to 18 months, according to the lawsuit.
JPMorgan alleged breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of duty of loyalty, interference with actual and prospective economic advantages and unfair competition, among other charges.
Reached by phone at his new office, Al-Mooshi declined to comment on the allegations.
Al-Mooshi was a private client advisor in the Farmington, Mich., JPMorgan/Chase bank branch starting in 2011, starting as a branch manager trainee, according to the lawsuit. In 2018, he became a private client advisor and filled that role until his departure on Nov. 1. In that position, he was not expected to build a client list beyond referrals from JPMorgan, the lawsuit said.
Al-Mooshi has been recruiting J.P. Morgan clients since he left, the firm alleged.
“One client informed JPMorgan that he had been receiving repeated, unwanted calls to his personal cell phone that he knew were from Al-Mooshi, so the client did not answer the calls,” the lawsuit alleged.
J.P. Morgan contended that most of the 560 clients he managed for the firm "were either pre-existing JPMorgan clients at the time they were assigned to Al-Mooshi, or were developed by him at JPMorgan with JPMorgan’s assistance.” The firm also contends he took client files with him when left and engaged in "highly suspicious" computer activity leading up to his departure that indicated he was recruiting clients.