One of the best moves you can make for your financial future is to invest your money with an investment firm. Unfortunately, doing so can expose you to investment fraud, which is a growing problem in the financial industry that can result in significant losses.
We are ready to fight on your behalf if you have lost more than $100,000 due to investment or securities fraud. We’ve recovered over $350 million for clients who have had their money mismanaged or stolen by stockbrokers, financial advisors, and investment firms.
At Meyer Wilson, our team of investment fraud lawyers serving Pennsylvania thoroughly understands all the different types of investment fraud our clients face. We will work tirelessly to ensure you recover any losses you suffer. Schedule your free consultation with a Pittsburgh securities & investment fraud lawyer today.
Notable Settlements and Verdicts
Some of the major case results we’ve achieved include:
- $262,000,000 jury verdict for 200+ retirees in a class action suit against Prudential where we won more than 100% of the losses for the victims.
- $3,200,000 recovered for an elderly victim of a Ponzi scheme where the financial institution ignored red flags.
- $500,000 recovered for a group of Texas investors who were sold unsuitable investments by the same financial advisor.
We Have Recovered Over
$350 Million for Our Clients Nationwide.
The Varied Forms of Investment Misconduct
This term covers various types of misconduct when talking about investment fraud. Over the 25+ years since our firm’s founding, we have helped victims who have suffered all types of investment fraud. The most common cases we see include:
- Advisor negligence
- Asset allocation misconduct
- Failure to supervise
- Breach of fiduciary duty
- Unauthorized trading
Advisor Negligence
When an advisor takes on a client’s money, they have a duty to do their best to ensure financial growth. If they are negligent in this duty and the result is a loss in your investment, an experienced Pittsburgh securities fraud attorney can help you file a lawsuit to recover your losses.
Asset Allocation Misconduct
When determining how to distribute your money among different asset types, one of the main things your financial advisor needs to consider is the level of risk you can afford to take on. Some of the asset classes into which your advisor is most likely to invest your money include:
- Bonds
- Stocks
- Cash
- Foreign currency
- Natural resources
- Real estate
Younger investors can sometimes tolerate more risk because they can absorb short-term losses as long as they record long-term gains. Because of this, investing their money in only a few asset types may be an appropriate course of action depending on the circumstances.Â
On the other hand, older investors are more risk-averse. For these investors in those circusmtances, an approach of spreading their money evenly over a wide range of asset types is far more likely to result in positive returns year-over-year.
If your advisor distributes your money among asset classes in a manner that contrasts your level of risk tolerance, they can be held accountable for any losses you incur.
Failure to Supervise
When a financial advisor commits investment fraud and their clients lose money, the brokerage firm that employs them can also be held liable. These firms have a legal responsibility to supervise their employees’ activity to ensure they comply with all relevant laws and regulations.
If your advisor fails to behave responsibly, ethically, and legally, resulting from a failure to supervise on behalf of the investment firm that employs them, an experienced securities & investment fraud attorney in Pittsburgh, PA, can help you pursue compensation from both the advisor and brokerage firm.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Under the law, investment advisors are held to a high level of fiduciary responsibility. Because investors often entrust advisors with the bulk of their savings, the potential for harm to their financial future if their advisor engages in unethical behavior is quite high.
When proposing an investment opportunity to a client, investment advisors must perform all of the necessary due diligence, including thoroughly reviewing the details of the investment, assessing the risks and rewards, giving their client full and accurate information about the investment, and ensuring the opportunity aligns with the investment strategy of the client.
Unauthorized Trading
For an advisor to make trades with their client’s money, they must first get authorization. An investor can authorize a trade in two main ways. First, they can directly approve an individual trade proposal presented by their advisor. Alternatively, they can approve a variety of trade types that meet certain criteria through the signing of their investment contract.
If your investment advisor trades with your money without obtaining the proper authorization, you can hold them liable for any resulting losses.
Why Work With Meyer Wilson?
With over 75 years of combined experience, our award-winning team of Pittsburgh investment fraud lawyers has helped make us one of the top investment fraud legal firms in the United States. Over the years, we have secured well over $350 million for our clients from those responsible for their losses.
Some of the ways in which we stand out from our competitors include:
- Our use of state-of-the-art technology throughout the process of pursuing compensation.
- Our firm keeps our caseload small, allowing us to give each client the personalized attention they need.
- Our process of preparing every case for court from the start ensures we are ready if a trial proves necessary while increasing our leverage in settlement negotiations.
- Our contingency fee payment structure gives our clients the peace of mind that they will only have to pay for legal services if we secure compensation on their behalf.
Our lawyers are nationwide leaders in investment fraud cases.
Determining Whether Investment Fraud Caused Your Losses
When you invest your money with an advisor and end up losing a significant amount of money, you will likely be curious about the cause of your losses. In addition to potential investment fraud, other illegal activity, unpredictable events, and natural fluctuations in the market can all be to blame.
If you think you may have been the victim of investment fraud, you can review the checklist of investment fraud red flags compiled by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). If things on this list are familiar to your situation, you might want to consider contacting an experienced Pittsburgh securities fraud lawyer today.
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Recent Major Reports of Successful Investment Fraud Prosecution
When cases get the federal government’s attention, the Department of Justice will report on the cases when someone is indicted, pleads guilty, or is sentenced. Here are some recent major cases.
- An insurance mogul pleaded guilty to a $2B fraud and money laundering scheme to defraud insurance regulators and policyholders.
- A former CEO of a publicly traded company was convicted of a securities fraud scheme for misleading investors about his company’s procurement of COVID-19 tests.
- Two men were sentenced for orchestrating multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency securities fraud and wire fraud schemes.
Get Help From an Experienced Pittsburgh Securities & Investment Fraud Attorney Today
After being victimized by an advisor engaging in investment fraud, the best way to increase your chances of recovering the compensation you need and deserve is by securing the legal services of an experienced attorney. At Meyer Wilson, we have helped countless investment fraud victims recover the compensation they need.
Contact us by phone or through our website to schedule your free initial case consultation with a Pittsburgh securities & investment fraud attorney.
Recovering Losses Caused by Investment Misconduct.