Reif Law Group, P.C.

Top Verdict Alert! On April 25, 2022, the Los Angeles Superior Court entered judgment for my clients after a two week trial for $45,146,377.00 in damages against all the Defendants, jointly and severally, plus the bad guy (Defendant Sergio Tellez) was permanently enjoined from serving on the Board and from serving as an officer of the corporation. Hard fought win for the victims! I get this amazing news while in the midst of a different jury trial (week 6 and counting)! #topverdict #superlawyers #corporategovernance #bigwin #triallawyers #trialbattle #cannabislaw

A Morgan Stanley advisor is taking the firm to court over millions in income he says he's lost amid anti-money laundering concerns.

Morgan Stanley FA Says Recruiting Deception Cost Him Millions Morgan Stanley is facing a lawsuit from a financial advisor who claims that misrepresentations made when he was recruited to the wirehouse from Merrill Lynch resulted in the loss of his best clients and the majority of his revenue. (excerpt) "He's a desperate employee, and he had to go to the court system as a last resort," Halvorson's attorney, Beverly Hills, California–based Brandon Reif, told FA-IQ. "He had no choice because Morgan Stanley refused to do the right thing," Reif added, saying that the firm "offered nothing" in failed mediation talks prior to the lawsuit's filing. Go to Article... #FINRA #Attorney #MorganStanley #FinancialAbuse

My elderly, vulnerable clients were deceived by promises of safe and secure investments that Colliers and its agents made guarantees would provide a stable stream of income and protection of their retirement nest eggs. But what we found through our investigation was that they sold my clients snake oil investments from dishonest people.   The economic damages and emotional harm are almost immeasurable. My clients lost all the value in the properties they sold to buy into this scheme, they lost the promised reliable income stream for their golden years, they face unexpected tax consequences and long-term emotional and psychological toll has been traumatizing. It is millions of dollars in money losses and then some in emotional distress damages.

JP Morgan lost its FINRA arbitration against former star broker Ed Turley seeking to recover over $40 million in settlements and awards that JP Morgan paid out to harmed customers related to trading patterns that used foreign currency and margin with high yield bonds and preferred stock. The trading strategy imploded and JP Morgan faced over $100 million in customer claims. The FINRA panel not only denied the relief but awarded Turley over $500,000 in attorneys' fees and costs. Ouch.

Arbitration award against Wells Fargo for about $300,000 handled by a local attorney in California. The panel rejected the claim for enhanced damages under California law protecting seniors, disabled and military veterans. Reif Law Group, P.C., on the other hand, has won enhanced damages (3x the award) under this California law three times including at FINRA and at JAMS. It is one of our best weapons to settle court cases before trial. Brandon --- Two Wells Fargo branded broker-dealers lost an arbitration claim on Thursday to two investors who were awarded $300,000 over alleged breach of fiduciary duty and fraud related to “various unspecified securities,” according to the award, which was overseen by Finra Dispute Resolutions Services. The claimants, Richard and Ann Grace, who represented a family trust, sued Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, or FiNet, along with Wells Fargo Advisors last year. FiNet is the independent broker-dealer arm of Wells Fargo Advisors. The name of the financial advisor at the center of the claim was not revealed as part of the award. The Richard and Ann Grace were seeking much higher damages from their lawsuit against Wells Fargo; in their statement of claim, they requested $517,000 in compensatory damages; $11,000 in forensic accounting fees; attorneys fees of $40,000; and treble damages, made possible under California law, of almost $1.6 million. A spokesperson for Wells Fargo Advisors declined to comment about the award. Marc Zussman, an attorney for the Grace family, did not return a call to comment. The three-person arbitration panel gave no explanation about their decision, which was split in two parts: $130,000 in compensatory damages and $170,000 in interest, dating back to 2016. The arbitration proceeding took place in San Francisco, according to the award. “It’s California law for the preeminent protection for seniors, the disabled, and veteans when they are the victims of any unfair practices,” said Brandon Reif, a securities attorney. “The damages can be tripled if the customer meets the qualifications. But the arbitrators did not find triple damages here.” According to its BrokerCheck profile, Wells Fargo Advisors FiNet has no action against it from regulators so far in 2024. The last major regulatory sanction against Wells Fargo Advisors and FiNet was in August 2023, when the Securities and Exchange Commission penalized Wells Fargo Advisors $35 million for overcharging advisory fees to certain clients who opened accounts prior to 2014 through the end of December 2022. "Certain financial advisors from Wells Fargo and its predecessor firms agreed to reduce the firms’ standard, pre-set advisory fees for certain clients and made handwritten or typed changes on the clients’ investment advisory agreements that reflected the reduced fees at the time their accounts were opened," the SEC stated at the time. But some clients never got the agreed-upon discounts, the SEC charged.

𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗮 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗮-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗿-𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗟𝗣𝗟 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹, 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 $𝟭.𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀. This large penalty, issued by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on Monday, underscores the importance of robust compliance systems in the financial industry. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘢 $475,000 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 $1.06 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 to eight customers who were subjected to excessive commissions due to unsuitable trading activities. These actions occurred between January 2016 and December 2019, during which time four former brokers at Western generated over $2.5 million in total trading costs. The fees incurred on these accounts represented as much as 30% of their equity value, with a turnover rate of eight, well above FINRA’s typical threshold for identifying potentially excessive trading. In one particularly egregious case, a former Western broker switched a senior customer’s account from a fee-based structure to brokerage, amassing $750,000 in commissions between 2018 and 2019. This amount represented 28% of the account’s value, signaling a violation of responsible trading practices. Another broker placed 3,200 trades in six customer accounts during the same period, leading to cost-to-equity ratios of an astonishing 55%. ...READ More... ⤵️ 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙍𝙚𝙞𝙛 𝙇𝙖𝙬 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥, 𝙋.𝘾. 𝙄𝙛 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙑𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙐𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 #LPLFinancial #FinancialAbuse #Fraud #FINRA #Attorney #California

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy 50th bday! I'm still on cloud nine from Saturday's birthday bash.

Morgan Stanley's attempt to distinguish its deferred compensation plan from an ERISA plan has failed miserably. The federal judge reaffirmed his prior ruling that ERISA applies. While Morgan Stanley fiercely advocated against it, the federal judge punched back even harder. If you have a claim against Morgan Stanley, call Reif Law Group, P.C.