Silver Law Group is investigating former Overland, Kansas-based Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. (CRD# 6363) broker John S. Elliot (CRD# 5981598) over allegations that he sold customers an outside investment.
According to Elliot’s FINRA BrokerCheck, Ameriprise discharged Elliot in August 2016 for violating Ameriprise compliance policies relating to selling away.
Following Elliot’s Discharge from Ameriprise, two customers filed FINRA arbitration complaints against the broker in November 2016. Both of the complaints allege Elliot sold the customers an unapproved investment in Selden Companies, LLC and damages of almost $1 million in the aggregate.
Selden Companies is believed to be a Ponzi scheme, according to one of the complaints. In August 2016, the FBI raided the Kansas home of Selden Companies principal Mark Sellers. Sellers allegedly fled after the FBI physically opened the door. After the law enforcement had him surrounded, Sellers committed suicide.
In December 2016, FINRA permanently barred Elliot from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public after Elliot failed to respond to a FINRA request for information.
Ameriprise had employed Elliot since November 2011 at its Overland Park, Kansas branch.
The term “selling away” is used when a broker sells or solicits the sale of securities that are not held or offered by the brokerage firm he or she is associated. Usually, the investments sought to be sold by the rogue broker are not approved by the employing firm and are often private placements or other alternative investments.
This is an important issue, as our firm sees many cases in which brokerage firms allege they conducted due diligence and the due diligence conducted was inadequate. In the cases of selling away, you have a rogue broker selling an investment that was either not vetted at all by the employing brokerage firm or was vetted and determined unsuitable for the brokerage firm’s customer base.
Brokers and brokerage firms have a duty to recommend suitable investments to their customers. This entails ensuring the investment is generally suitable for investment purposes and also suitable for the particular investor, factoring age, investment goal, and other factors.
On top of the duty to recommend suitable investments, a brokerage firm has a duty to supervise its brokers. The brokerage firm is responsible for the actions of its brokers.
FINRA arbitration is a fast, efficient way to recover your lost investment funds. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay us nothing unless we win and recover money for you.
If you have invested with John S. Elliot and Ameriprise Financial Services and/or Selden Companies, LLC and have lost money doing so, you may be able to recover some or all of your losses. Our lawyers are experienced in recovering investor losses due to broker and brokerage firm misconduct through FINRA arbitration.
Silver Law Group represents the interests of investors who have been the victims of investment fraud. If you have questions about your legal rights, please contact Scott Silver of the Silver Law Group for a free consultation at ssilver@silverlaw.com or toll free at (800) 975-4345.