Silver Law Group is Investigating Cornelius Peterson of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

Silver Law Group is currently investigating Boston, MA and New York, NY based broker Cornelius Peterson regarding complaints pertaining to failure to provide due diligence to investor clients, misappropriation of client funds and misrepresentation.

Based on FINRA’s BrokerCheck report on Peterson, a complaint was filed on September 1, 2017 alleging that Peterson provided misleading information to investor clients during his employment at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. In 2016, Peterson and his colleague James S. Polese were both charged with allegations relating to stealing upwards of $450,000 from one of their elderly clients. The allegations include misappropriating at least $350,000 of client’s funds by using $100,000 of the funds to make investments in their own names and directing the remaining $250,000 to their own personal bank accounts. In addition, several unauthorized withdrawals from the client’s account were made that totaled $93,000. Thus far, Peterson has a permanent suspension and the current charge is still pending.

Peterson was previously employed at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney from 2011 to 2017 and St. Lawrence University from 2007 to 2011.

Misappropriation of client funds occurs when a broker and/or brokerage firm utilizes client’s funds for personal or exterior business ventures that the client did not consent to. At times, this happens without the brokerage firm being aware; however, both the brokerage firm and the broker have the obligation to utilize client’s investment funds appropriately and if they are making investments, disclose the full accurate nature and risk of the investment transactions.  Silver Law Group routinely represents elderly investors in investment fraud cases and also maintains a website at www.elderfinancialfraudattorneys.com with additional information.

Failure to provide due diligence transpires when a broker and/or brokerage firm does not take the proper measures to ensure that their client’s investments are given the proper review, risk assessment, and utilization to serve the best interests of their clients. The brokerage firm is required to appoint a manager to facilitate these investigations and brokers employed by the brokerage firm are expected to comply to all industry regulations to serve the best interests of their investor clients.

Misrepresentation occurs when a broker and/or brokerage firm decides to provide false or misleading information to clients with the objective of luring them into risky investment transactions. In many cases, had the client known about the risk and nature of the transaction, they would have declined to place their investment funds there. If you invested your capital due to misleading information that was provided to you by a broker willingly or by a broker that did not perform their due diligence to verify the securities you were investing with, then you have the potential of recovering some 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 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 Cornelius Peterson

 If you invested with Cornelius Peterson 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.