FINRA Panel Orders Morgan Stanley to Pay $34 million for Exploiting an Elderly Florida Man

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (the “FINRA”) awarded more than $34 million on March 18, 2016 to the estate of former Home Shopping Network chief Roy M. Speer in its claim against Morgan Stanley for churning the late Mr. Speer’s account.

The all-public arbitration panel ruled that Morgan Stanley, broker Ami Forte and branch manager Terry McCoy were jointly liable for violating Florida elder exploitation laws, unauthorized trading, breach of fiduciary duty/constructive fraud, negligence, negligent supervision and unjust enrichment.

The panel awarded $32.8 million in compensatory damages to Lynnda Speer, Mr. Speer’s widow and representative of the estate, and $1.5 million to reimburse costs incurred during the arbitration process.  Additionally, Ms. Speer will seek to recover potentially millions in attorney’s fees in Florida court, according to an InvestmentNews article.

According to the article, there were about 12,000 transactions in six of Mr. Speer’s accounts between January 2009 to June 2012, 85% of which centered on corporate and municipal bond trading.

Elder abuse and exploitation is not confined to nursing home activities and related instances.  Securities professionals and firms frequently violate these sorts of laws, as evidenced by this case.  It is an issue that FINRA and the Securities Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) have devoted many reports and materials to extinguish.  For more guidance on these issues, see FINRA’s senior investor website.

Silver Law Group has and is currently representing elder investors who have lost much of their life savings due to Wall Street greed and disregard of elder abuse and exploitation laws.  If you or a loved one has lost money investing due to violation of elder abuse and exploitation laws, you may be able to recover some or all of your losses.

Silver Law Group represents the interests of investors and senior 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.