Stock fraud lawyers are investigating potential claims on behalf of investors of Securities America who may have suffered significant losses as a result of life insurance investment twisting and churning.
Investment fraud lawyers say churning is a common problem in the securities industry. According to the S.E.C., “Churning refers to the excessive buying and selling of securities in your account by your broker, for the purpose of generating commissions and without regard to your investment objectives.” In short, churning is a form of broker misconduct in which the broker performs excessive trading to generate personal profit. For more information on churning, see the previous blog post, “Investment Churning: A Slippery Slope of Broker Misconduct.”
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration claim was recently filed on behalf of an 81-year-old Peoria, Illinois resident. The claimant, a retired widow, was sold various life insurance policies and annuities. These investments were allegedly held for only a short period of time before being liquidated. According to the claim, the investments’ proceeds were then rolled into other annuity contracts and policies. Allegedly, most of these transactions incurred surrender charges and fees that were charged to the claimant. As an example detailed by the Statement of Claim, the funds of a Lincoln Annuity, purchased on August 20, 2003 and surrendered two years later, were rolled into a 15-month Fidelity Annuity. The proceeds of this transaction were rolled, on the same day of the sale, into a Hancock Annuity. The Hancock Annuity was held for just over two years. When it was sold, its proceeds were rolled into a Jackson Annuity.
In February 2011, John Edward Watson, the claimant’s advisor, was discharged from Securities America. Stock fraud lawyers say he was discharged for “providing inaccurate information on client disclosure documents.”
If you believe you have been the victim of churning, you may be able to recover your losses through securities arbitration. To find out more about your legal rights and options, contact an investment fraud lawyer at The Law Office of Christopher J. Gray at (866) 966-9598 for a no-cost, confidential consultation.