Skip to Content

How Do You Take Action Against Stockbroker Fraud?

March 29, 2024 Blog

Stockbroker fraud is a major issue. Each year, investors lose tens of billions of dollars to fraudulent brokerage practices—from promoting high-risk unregistered offerings to churning investors’ accounts and making unsuitable investment recommendations in order to generate fees and commissions.

If you have information (or concerns) about stockbroker fraud, coming forward is the right thing to do. This is true whether you work for a brokerage firm, work with a brokerage firm or have concerns as an investor. Here’s how you can take action:

Taking Action as an Employee or Other Insider

If you work for a brokerage firm and have information about fraudulent practices that are harming investors, you should speak with a lawyer about coming forward as an SEC whistleblower. The same is true if you are an accountant or corporate insider, if you are a former brokerage firm employee, or if you have access to inside information about stockbroker fraud through other means.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relies heavily on whistleblowers to come forward, and it provides both protection and compensation to eligible individuals. If you qualify as an SEC whistleblower, you can hire a lawyer to work with the SEC on your behalf—and you can file your whistleblower complaint anonymously if you choose to do so.

Taking Action as an Investor and Client

If you are an investor and you have reason to believe that you are a victim of stockbroker fraud, you should speak with a lawyer promptly in this scenario as well. Even when the SEC pursues enforcement actions (with or without help from whistleblowers), defrauded investors generally don’t receive full compensation for their fraudulent investment losses. Instead, to recover their losses, investors must pursue claims against their stockbrokers and brokerage firms in FINRA arbitration.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) works alongside the SEC to regulate the securities brokerage industry. In addition to enforcing stockbrokers’ and brokerage firms’ duties through license suspensions and other disciplinary means, FINRA also provides an arbitration forum for aggrieved investors to recover their losses. Some examples of common grounds for pursuing FINRA arbitration against stockbrokers and brokerage firms include:

  • Account churning
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Excessive fees and commissions
  • Misrepresentations and omissions
  • Unsuitable investment advice

For investors who have these grounds—or any other grounds—to pursue claims against their stockbrokers and brokerage firms, the first step is to engage experienced legal counsel. Filing a successful claim requires both proof of liability and proof of loss. A lawyer who has significant experience representing defrauded investors will be able to help you seek the full damages to which you are legally entitled.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Stockbroker Fraud Attorney at Zamansky LLC

At Zamansky LLC, we represent SEC whistleblowers and defrauded investors at no out-of-pocket cost. If you need to take action against stockbroker fraud, we encourage you to contact us promptly for more information. To speak with an experienced stockbroker fraud attorney at Zamansky LLC in confidence, give us a call at 212-742-1414 or tell us how we can contact you online today.

Tell Us About
Your Losses

Categories

Jake's Blog

Client Reviews

“Jake Zamasky and his colleagues represented me in a FINRA arbitration case against a large multinational bank and succeeded in obtaining an award for the full amount of my investment losses. I would highly recommend the Zamansky firm for their experience in securities litigation, their level of detailed research and case preparation, and their ability to effectively fight for what’s right.”

Richard R.

“Throughout my entire case, Jake Zamansky was incredibly responsive and spent time walking me through each step of the process. He is professional and worked with my challenging schedule, even meeting with me nights and on weekends. He knew exactly which turn to take when it came to my case and yet was respectful of any decisions I wanted to make resulting in a positive outcome.”

Donald A.

“Jake Zamansky and his firm represented me in a FINRA arbitration case to recover investment losses. Jake and his team were very professional and worked very hard preparing for trial and then reaching a substantial settlement of our case. I would highly recommend them.”

William E.

“Jake Zamansky represented me in a FINRA arbitration case which allowed me to recover a substantial portion of investment losses. He is truly an expert in this space and I would highly recommend him to those investors who may have been been a victim of investment fraud.”

Chris K.

“Jake and his team did a great job communicating with me throughout the process of my lawsuit. I would recommend him to anyone looking to sue UBS for unethical practices.”

Mike A.
View More
Tell Us About Your Losses Get Started