Former Ameriprise Broker William B. Wyman Under Investigation Over Allegations of Selling Unapproved Investments

Silver Law Group is investigating form Palm Bay, Florida-based Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. (CRD# 6363) broker William B. Wyman (CRD# 4155621) after allegations that he sold away from his employing firm surface.

According to Wyman’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, FINRA barred Wyman in January 2017 after he failed to request termination of his suspension after his suspension period ended.  Accordingly, FINRA automatically barred him from associating with any FINRA member in any capacity.

Wyman’s most recent BrokerCheck disclosure is a customer complaint that alleges negligence and that Wyman sold the customer an unapproved investment outside the brokerage firm.  The complaint alleges almost $100,000 in damages.

In addition the pending customer complaint, Wyman has quite a few financial-related disclosures.  In 2011, Wyman was released from a debt.  In 2012, a lien/judgment in an undetermined amount was placed on Wyman. In 2013, Wyman entered into another compromise.  Recently, in 2016, Wyman entered into another compromise concerning a debt.

Wyman was employed by Ameriprise very briefly from February 2016 until he was barred in November 2016.  Prior to Ameriprise, Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. (CRD# 23131) employed Wyman from July 2000 to February 2016.  Wyman operated out of the Palm Bay, Florida locations for both brokerage firms.

According to Wyman’s detailed CRD report, Wyman owned an insurance agency named Wyman and Shier Financial Services and also served as vice president of the business.

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.

Contact Our Firm if You’ve Lost Money

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 William B. Wyman and Ameriprise Financial Services or Royal Alliance Associates 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.