Mississippi Elder Financial Abuse Attorneys

Mississippi Elder Financial Abuse Attorneys

Working With Older Investors and Their Families Throughout The Magnolia State In Recouping The Damages Owed By Their Brokers

According to the AARP, elder financial exploitation costs victims ages 60 and older more than $28.3 billion dollars every year. The nonprofit organization reports that 70% of these losses were caused by perpetrators the older persons knew, including friends, acquaintances, relatives, and investment professionals. From our Gulfport, MS elder financial abuse law offices, Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (investorlawyers.com) represent elderly investors and their loved ones in pursuing damages from the financial advisors who committed such crimes.

Even if criminal charges are brought against the unscrupulous broker, this does not guarantee financial recovery for the victim. Filing a Mississippi elder financial abuse arbitration claim through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), however, is one way you can go after a broker-dealer for your losses.

Why Are Older Seniors Vulnerable to Financial Abuse By a Broker?

Age-related issues, including cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s, dementia, or other health problems can make elderly investors more vulnerable to bad stockbrokers seeking to misappropriate their funds. So can social isolation and shame around admitting they were exploited. Also, because many retirees and other adults will have spent a lifetime accruing a nest egg for their life savings, this means they have money to invest, and—in the eyes of rogue financial advisors—to misappropriate. Some rogue stockbrokers may even seek to unethically obtain power of attorney over an older investor’s finances or gain access to their bank account so they can steal their money.

Mississippi elder financial abuse often is committed with the intent to defraud or steal money from an older customer. However, there are other kinds of broker misconduct or negligence that are committed without bad intentions in which the scope of the harm caused may be considered elder financial abuse, including:

• Unsuitable investment recommendations. Not all financial products and alternative investments would be appropriate for an older investor, especially an ailing one, which is why it is important that your broker perform the proper due diligence.

 

• Misrepresentations and omissions. Downplaying the risks or not making sure that the elderly customer understands the kind of financial product or complex investing strategy they have agreed to take on.

 

• Excessive trading in an older investor’s account for the purposes of earning more commissions even though the transactions are not in this customer’s best interests.

 

• Overconcentrating an elderly client’s portfolio with too many illiquid investments.

 

• Due diligence failures that can inadvertently expose a senior investor to some type of investment scam.

 

• A broker-dealer fails to properly supervise their financial advisor’s activities in an elderly investor’s account. This results in the firm neglecting to detect a Ponzi scam or another type of fraud.

 

• Gross negligence or carelessness on the part of the stockbroker, which ends up causing portfolio losses that could have been avoided.

 

Why It Is Important That You Work With Knowledgeable Gulfport, MS Elder Financial Exploitation Attorneys

Investors and their families who end up in broker misconduct disputes with a financial advisor will often find that a broker-dealer is unlikely to admit to wrongdoing. They may even try to deny anything was amiss or perhaps shift the blame onto you. This is just one of the reasons you need seasoned Mississippi elder financial abuse attorneys by your side.

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas has been representing older investors and their loved ones for over 30 years. Not only do we have a combined over a century’s worth of experience in securities law and the securities industry, but many of us used to work in the brokerage industry. We left because of a lot of the bad behavior we witnessed. We know how to identify the signs of elder financial abuse by a broker and how to build a solid lawsuit on a client’s behalf.

We understand the devastating emotional and financial toll that becoming the victim of elder financial abuse can take. Should we agree to work together, we will provide you with zealous securities law representation and we will be there for you throughout the entire process. Our Gulfport, MS senior investor fraud attorneys have the skills, knowledge, and resources to go after the largest broker-dealers in Mississippi and the rest of the United States. We also know that this is a rampant issue, which is why we have partnered with McCulloch & Miller to offer elder law and estate planning services.

Through our dedication and efforts, thousands of investors have collectively recovered many millions of dollars from the financial advisors responsible.

How To Contact Our Mississippi Elder Financial Abuse Attorneys:

Call (228) 206-2493 or (800) 259-9010 or fill out our online form.

Our Mississippi Elder Financial Abuse Attorneys

2118 18th St #100
Gulfport, MS 39501