Recent Cases | Page 6 | Cold Spring Advisory Group

Recent Cases

Client: Feed Yard Manager

Amount Lost: $211,000

Commissions Charged: $115,000

Cold Spring has been retained by a 65-year-old feed yard manager in Guymon, Oklahoma seeking $211,000 in damages against a Woodstock, Georgia-based broker-dealer. His broker excessively traded his account to generate commissions and invested him in highly speculative positions despite his limited investment experience. The cost maintenance to equity ratio on the account was a high 36.31%, meaning the client would need returns of 36.31% just to break even.

Client: Retired

Amount Lost: $70,000

Broker Abuse: Suitability

Cold Spring has been retained by an 82-year-old retiree in Shalimar, Florida seeking $70,000 in damages against a Seattle, Washington-based broker-dealer. His broker made unsuitable recommendations for a retired investor and over-concentrated his account in options and other highly speculative positions despite his limited risk tolerance.

Client: Corn Farmer

Amount Lost: $566,000

Commissions Charged: $255,000

Cold Spring has been retained by a farmer in Hartland, Minnesota seeking $566,000 in damages against broker-dealers in Woodstock, Georgia and Seattle, Washington. His brokers excessively traded his account solely to generate commissions that totaled over $250 million in less than two years. The client was traded in high risk, speculative positions and incurred additional losses caused by short-term holds with minimal fluctuation.

Client: Retired

Amount Lost: $45,249

Broker Abuse: Suitability

A 62-year-old retiree who receives social security and disability benefits and lives in Santa Ana, California has retained Cold Spring. He is seeking $49,000 in damages against a New York City-based broker-dealer who traded his account on margin without authorization despite his specific instructions not to so. Further, his broker excessively traded his account to generate commissions and invested him in highly speculative and extremely risky stocks in direct opposition to his risk tolerance and his level of investor sophistication.

Client: Retired

Amount Lost: $27,242

Broker Abuse: Suitability

Cold Spring has been retained by a 60-year-old retired commercial vehicle driver in Flat Rock, Illinois seeking $31,742 in damages against a New York City-based broker-dealer who put his account on margin without authorization and put the client at extreme financial risk with unsuitable investment recommendations. The broker traded the client in options and highly speculative positions despite his limited investment experience, and churned the account strictly to generate commissions. The account lost 70% of its value within four months.

Client: Dairy Farmer

Amount Lost: $41,842

Broker Abuse: Suitability

Cold Spring has been retained by a 57-year-old dairy farmer in Belgrade, Minnesota seeking $41,852 in damages against a New York City-based broker-dealer who traded the client’s account on margin without authorization and churned his account to generate commissions. His broker failed to diversify his portfolio and used principal riskless markup/markdown transactions to disguise the true amount of commissions being generated. The cost maintenance to equity ratio was 69.64%, meaning the client would need returns of 69.64% just to break even.

Client: Jeweler

Amount Lost: $58,838

Commissions Charged: $35,920

Cold Spring has been retained by a 70-year-old jeweler in Los Angeles, California seeking $50,000 dollars in damages against a Portland, Oregon broker-dealer who put his account on margin without authorization and churned the account for commission. The broker used principal mark-ups/markdown transactions to disguise the true amount of commissions being generated and rarely consulted the client prior to executing trades. The average cost maintenance to equity ratio for the account was an astounding 91.90%, meaning the client would need to get a 91.90% return on his investment just to break even.

Client: Cattle Breeder

Amount Lost: $67,000

Commissions Charged: $50,000

Cold Spring has been retained by a cattle breeder in Mount Vernon, Washington for $67,000 in damages against a broker-dealer in New York City that repeatedly made unsuitable trades in his account. This client was not an accredited investor but was put in a private placement by the broker despite the fact that he did not meet the qualifications for a private placement. After losing an initial $17,000 in the account, the client lost $50,000 more in the private placement and ultimately lost 89% of his total investment in 19 months.

Pages