FINRA Panel Tells Ameriprise to Pay Elderly Couple $1.7M Over Unsuitable Real Estate Investments

A Financial Industry Arbitration panel says that Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. (AMP) must pay $1.17M to two senior investors for getting them involved in investments that failed. The panel said that the financial firm acted inappropriately when it advised Albertus Niehuis Jr., 82, and his wife Andrea, to put $1.03M into high-risk tenant-in-common investments involving hotels and office complexes six years ago. They are retired school teachers.

One of the investments failed. The other two lost significant value. Despite the ruling, the financial firm insists that it gave the Niehuises the appropriate investment advice and it stands behind the recommendations.

In 2012, ThinkAdvisor.com said that the number of senior investors is expected to reach 89 million in 2050. Currently, there are close to 40 million Americans belonging to the age 65 and over group. Unfortunately, elder financial fraud continues to be a serious problem.

Just recently, broker Michael Zuno Zuniga received a 5-year prison term and was told to pay $1.2 million for taking part in a Ponzi scam that targeted seniors living in the Los Angeles, California area. He was charged with 57 felony counts and accused of bilking at least 18 investors, most of them Latinos, of about $1.5 million. Zuniga reportedly solicited his victims in their homes.

Financial firms and their representatives know that older investors sometimes can’t afford to take on as much risk as younger investors. It is the broker’s job to make sure that they make the appropriate investment recommendations to protect their clients’ money.

Many elderly investors will not be bringing in more income and they will need the money they do have to take care of them for the rest of their lives. Huge investment losses can be devastating, possibly making it hard for them to get the proper medical and nursing care they might need later in life.

At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LTD LLP, we are here to help senior investors get their fraud losses back. Contact our senior investor fraud lawyers today.

Finra panel orders Ameriprise to pay couple $1.17 million, InvestmentNews, May 5, 2014
Best Practices for Working with Senior Investors, Think Advisor

Broker sentenced for $1.5 million Ponzi scam targeting Latino seniors, IFAWebnews.com, April 29, 2014

More Blog Posts:
SEC Files Fraud Charges Against American Pension Services and Its Founder Over $22M Investor Losses, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 30, 2014

Elder Financial Fraud: One Out of Five Seniors Victimized, Reports WSJ, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, January 20, 2014

The Brokerage Industry Responds to FINRA’s Broker Compensation Proposal, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, April 4, 2014