Helping clients recover what they have lost
Oakes & Fosher, LLC has represented over one thousand investors in securities fraud cases through almost all fifty states. Our attorneys represent investors of all sizes. Whether you have lost millions or as little as $25,000, the mission and goal of Oakes & Fosher is to assist all investors who have been wronged or defrauded.
Arbitration Awards issued by Arbitration Panels in cases in which Oakes & Fosher represented the claimant (investor) as well as settlements Oakes & Fosher has obtained for our clients include:
Award of $2,629,273 in favor of investor Sandra C. Alford. The case involved a stock broker at National Planning Corporation who seriously mishandled the account of an elderly widow and abused the trust she had given to the broker. The settlement resulted in the client recovering all of her losses, $1,000,000 in punitive damages, and covering her attorneys' fees as well. Alford v. National Planning Corporation, FINRA DR No. 17-02420.
Award of $750,000 in favor of investor Cynthia A. Burch against Huntleigh Securities Corporation, following a successful claim of breach of fiduciary duty, common law fraud, negligence, and misrepresentation. The award included compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorney fees. Burch v. Huntleigh Securities Corporation, FINRA DR No. 17-02936.
Unanimous Award of $1,341,280 in favor of a Texas investor against Oppenheimer whose brokerage account was excessively traded by two Oppenheimer brokers. Award included recovery of interest as well as attorneys' fees. Gillespie v. Oppenheimer et al, FINRA DR No. 09-05596.
Settlement of $1,470,000 for an investor whose brokerage account was seriously mishandled and abused through speculative private placements, unsuitable securities as well as self-serving trading of the customer's account to generate excessive commissions and fees.
Unanimous Award of $1,105,000 against an associate of Bernard Madoff who recommended that the investors entrust their funds in the Madoff fund, a Ponzi scheme. Turbo Investors, LLC v. Robert M. Jaffe, FINRA DR No. 09-05485.
Settlement of $1,087,500 against a large brokerage firm for mismanaging a retired couple's retirement savings.
Settlement of $1,030,000 for an investor whose brokerage account was invested in an unsuitably aggressive manner which was inconsistent with his need and desire for conservative investments which produced income.
Unanimous Award of $1,090,664 in favor of Boston investors against Banc of America Investment Services for misrepresentations and losses relating to the brokerage firm's sale of variable annuities. Biren et al. v. Banc of America Investment Services, Inc., FINRA DR No. 09-05044.
Settlement of $795,000 for a Georgia investor against a major brokerage firm for improper conduct relating to trading in and out of mutual funds and other packaged investment products.
Unanimous Award of $1,403,500 for a group of three California retired AT&T employees who were defrauded by Royal Alliance Associates and its broker by encouraging them to accept a lump sum retirement package, and then investing the retirement funds in self-serving speculative real estate investment trusts and unsuitable variable annuities. Peterson et al. v. Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., FINRA DR No. 10-04587. Award included additional recovery in the form of interest and punitive damages.
Settlement of $960,000 for a group of Ohio retirees who were invested in high-risk securities which were unsuitable for them given their retirement status and need for conservative income.
Unanimous Award of $853,338 in favor of a brokerage firm customer whose account had been excessively traded to generate commissions. The Arbitration Panel awarded compensatory damages, punitive damages of double the compensatory damages, plus interest and attorneys' fees. Artmire v. First Midwest Securities, Inc., FINRA DR No. 12-02841.
Settlement on behalf of Madison County, Illinois against the brokerage firm Sterne, Agee & Leach for $340,000. The case involved the brokerage firm charging the County Treasurer's Office excessive commissions relating to bond purchases.
Unanimous Award of $566,832 in favor of a couple due to broker fraud relating to mutual fund switching and improper mutual fund share classes, all designed to generate greater commissions and fees for the broker, knowing that his conduct was detrimental to his customers. Rooney v. Wachovia Securities LLC, Bruce E. Wiegand and Morton S. Rudin, FINRA DR No. 03-00704. Award included punitive damages in the amount of twice the compensatory damages. The Arbitration Panel also held the branch manager as jointly responsible for failure to supervise the broker.
Settlement for $375,000 for a disabled individual whose account was mismanaged.
Unanimous Award of $597,294 for a small group of retirees whose broker made unsuitable and self-serving recommendations regarding variable annuities and non-traded real estate investment trusts. Nelson et al. v. Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., FINRA DR No. 12-03721.
Settlement for $395,000 for a brokerage customer whose account was excessively traded by his stock broker.
Unanimous Award for customer whose account had been excessively traded. Even though the account was profitable, the Panel awarded $235,000 in damages based on the difference between 1) what the customer should have had if the account was handled properly and 2) how the account actually fared. The Panel also awarded the investor attorneys' fees and costs. LaBolle v. Oppenheimer & Co., FINRA DR No. 13-02460.
Settlement of $700,000 for group of investors whose broker misrepresented the risk of various highly speculative real estate ventures which he recommended to his customers.
Unanimous Award of $309,865 for an Arizona retiree whose brokerage account was excessively traded on margin. Osterman v. Morgan Stanley DW, Inc., FINRA DR No. 08-04418. The award included disgorgement of commissions as well as attorneys' fees.
Settlement of $600,000 in favor of an investor whose broker caused him to lose most of his retirement funds by investing in speculative options.
Unanimous Award of $529,467 for a Utah couple, which included interest, costs, attorneys' fees and interest, against a brokerage firm which engaged in deceptive and fraudulent conduct in its handling of customer funds. White v. ItradeDirect.com Corporation, FINRA DR No. 09-00993.
Settlement of $537,500 for a Missouri elderly retiree whose brokerage account was mishandled and abused by a broker from a major, national brokerage firm.
Unanimous Award of $215,182 for a Virginia investor for losses incurred due to the broker's failure to follow customers' directives about investment objectives. Keiffer v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. FINRA DR No. 11-00620.
Settlement of $700,000 for a New York customer who lost significant funds due to his broker's speculative and unsuitable option trading strategy.
Unanimous Award for $400,000 for Michigan investors for losses incurred due to the failure of the brokerage firm to supervise its broker. Monahan et al. v. H. Beck, Inc., FINRA DR No. 09-04321.
Settlement of $550,000 for an investor who lost funds due to the broker's failure to invest the customer's funds in an appropriate and suitable manner.
Unanimous Award for retired Colorado couple in the amount of $1,042,884 who were sold private, non-traded real estate investment trusts. Award included market-adjusted damages, prejudgment interest, attorneys' fees and costs. Bien et al. v. Mid-Atlantic Capital Corporation, FINRA DR No. 15-00333.
Settlement of $390,000 for an investor whose brokerage account was excessively traded.
Unanimous Award for $354,582 against a major brokerage firm for unsuitable investments and excessive trading to generate commissions and fees. Lewis v. Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, FINRA DR No. 10-04321.
Settlement of $725,000 due to a broker abusing the brokerage account of a disabled child who had received settlement funds due to an injury the child sustained as an infant.
Unanimous Award for $290,279 for a Pennsylvania retired couple whose brokerage account was invested unsuitably and which was excessively traded. Umstead v. Nations Financial Group, Inc., FINRA DR No. 11-03025.
Settlement of $550,000 against a major brokerage firm for speculative investments for a retiree.
Unanimous Award for $280,683 for an elderly customer who was invested in a fraudulent security. The award was against the brokerage firm for failure to supervise. Estate of Lawrence D. Burns, FINRA DR No. 09-05253.
Settlement of $449,000 for losses incurred due to excessively trading long term products such as mutual funds, closed end funds and unit investment trusts.
Unanimous Award for $375,711 for customers of Stifel Nicolaus whose broker invested the brokerage accounts in speculative securities and leveraged the accounts on margin. McDonald v. Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., FINRA DR No. 04-00479. The award included additional relief in the form of attorneys' fees and punitive damages.
Settlement of $650,000 for a retired widow whose broker encouraged her to borrow money to invest in speculative investments.
Unanimous Award for $539,000 for an Illinois investor whose broker stole customer funds through the guise of bogus promissory notes. Crutcher v. New England Securities, Inc., FINRA DR No. 07-00440. The award included additional compensation in the form of interest, costs, attorneys' fees and punitive damages.
Settlement of $312,149 for losses incurred because the broker recommended a large variable annuity to a retired investor for the purposes of generating large fees.
Unanimous Award of $521,615 for a Tennessee investor whose account was churned by the broker, and the brokerage firm failed to supervise properly. Goodman v. Meyers Associates, Inc., FINRA DR No. 10-05361. The award included attorneys' fees, interest, costs and punitive damages.
Unanimous Award of $427,060 for an estate where an elderly individual had been the subject of financial abuse by his broker. The broker excessively traded securities for the sole purpose of generating commissions, all of which was at the expense of his elderly customer. Estate of Malcolm Schvey v. Janney Montgomery Scott, LLC, FINRA DR No. 12-02533.
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