Silver Law Group is Investigating James S. Polese of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

Silver Law Group is currently investigating Boston, MA and New York, NY based broker James S. Polese regarding complaints pertaining to failure to provide due diligence to investor clients, misrepresentation regarding client fees and security of investments, and misappropriation of client funds.

Based on FINRA’s BrokerCheck report on Polese, a complaint was filed on January 31, 2018 alleging that Polese provided misleading information to investor clients during his employment at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. In 2016, Polese and his colleague Cornelius Peterson stole nearly $450,000 from one elderly client by misappropriating $350,000 of the client’s funds and using $100,000 of those funds to make investments in his own name and then directly taking the remaining $250,000 to his own personal bank account. In addition, Polese withdrew in excess of $93,000 of unauthorized withdrawals from the client’s account to pay his credit card expenses and children’s college tuition. The total in damages is yet to be decided as one of the actions is still pending.

Polese was previously employed at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney from 2010 to 2017. He has been employed at UBS Financial Services from 2004 to 2010.

Misappropriation of client funds occurs when a broker or brokerage firm uses the client’s funds for their own purpose that is unauthorized by the client. In many cases, this results in the client sustaining a considerable amount to their investment and being charged excessive fees for the transactions.  Elder financial fraud is on the rise.  FINRA has recently created new rules to help brokerage firms detect and manage elder abuse.  However, unscrupulous brokers can still take advantage of seniors or engage in gross misconduct.

When a broker or brokerage firm fails to provide the required due diligence to their clients, they can be held liable. It is the fiduciary duty of the broker and/or brokerage firm to conduct a thorough and adequate investigation of the securities in which they are utilizing investor funds for investment. The advice and recommendations that the broker and/or brokerage firm makes need to be only in the best interest of the investor. When a broker and/or brokerage firm fails to meet this standard, they have not upheld the proper due diligence obligation for their investor clients.

Misrepresentation is a common occurrence in investment fraud cases. Misrepresentation occurs when a broker and/or brokerage firm purposely provides false and/or misleading information to investors with the objective of luring them to make a risky investment. If you invested your capital based on misleading information willingly provided to you by a broker, you have the opportunity to recover part or even all of your money through FINRA arbitration.

FINRA arbitration is a streamlined way to recover your funds that were lost due to failure to provide due diligence, misappropriation of client funds or misrepresentation. The Silver Law Group solely works on a contingency fee basis, which means that you will not have to pay any fees upfront until we recover money for you.

Contact Our Firm if You’ve Invested with James S. Polese

If you invested with James S. Polese and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and have lost money doing so, then you have the potential to recover part or all of your losses. Our firm has many years of experience dealing with recovering investor losses from broker/brokerage misconduct and mismanagement through FINRA arbitration.

Silver Law Group is dedicated to representing the interests of investors who have been victims of investor fraud. If you have questions regarding your potential for recovery or legal rights, please contact Scott Silver or the Silver Law Group for a complimentary consultation at ssilver@silverlaw.com or toll-free at (800) 975-4345.