Recent Cases | Page 9 | Cold Spring Advisory Group

Recent Cases

Client: Retired

Amount Lost: $237,000

Commissions Charged: $168,000

Cold Spring has been retained by a retired orthopedic surgeon from Lincolnwood, Illinois who is seeking $237,000 in damages against a broker in Syosset, New York for churning 3 of his accounts and putting him in unsuitable positions. In the year and 9 months he was invested in the firm, he paid $166,000 in commissions. In addition to having an excessively high cost maintenance for his accounts, the client was marked up and marked down with no knowledge of what those terms event meant.

Client: Orthodontist

Amount Lost: $825,000

Commissions Charged: $271,000

Cold Spring has been retained by a dentist in Jefferson City, Missouri seeking a total of $825,000 in damages against two New York City broker-dealers that over-concentrated his accounts in highly speculative stocks - one of which included his pension. His accounts were excessively traded for commissions and were also on a high cost maintenance ratio. The client lost $100,000 a month for the first 3 months the accounts were open and ultimately lost 48.8% of his investment. 

Client: Retired

Amount Lost: $46,000

Broker Abuse: Suitability

CSAH has been retained by a 73-year-old retired truck inspector from Smithsburg, Maryland seeking $46,000 in damages against a New York City broker-dealer that made unsuitable investment recommendations that were inappropriate for the investor's profile. The broker had invested the client in high-risk, speculative positions despite the fact that the client was on a fixed income and had limited investor experience.

Client: Waste Management

Amount Lost: $154,000

Commissions Charged: $196,000

Cold Spring has been retained by 76-year-old waste management specialist from Dallas, Georgia to seek $154,000 in damages  against a Melville, New York broker-dealer who churned 2 separate accounts. The cost maintenance on the accounts were exceedingly high at 234% and the broker traded the client's IRA account for commission on a daily basis.

Client: Retired

Amount Lost: $58,000

Broker Abuse: Suitability

Cold Spring has been retained by a 82-year-old retired lumberyard owner from Mabel, Minnesota seeking $58,000 in damages against 2 New York city broker-dealers that made unsuitable investment recommendations. Both brokers repeatedly executed transactions in high risk, speculative positions without the client's authorization. The brokers also churned the account strictly for the purpose of generating commission.

Client: Farmer

Amount Lost: $1 Million

Broker Abuse: Suitabiity

Cold Spring has been retained by a 55-year-old farmer in Akron, Iowa seeking $1 million dollars in damages against a New York-based broker-dealer that made unsuitable recommendations. Despite the fact that the client had no investor experience, his broker traded him in highly speculative positions and executed millions of transactions through an in and out trading strategy. His broker was making thousands in commissions through hidden underwriting fees for each transaction. This was unbeknownst to the client, who was explicitly told that he would not be charged any commissions. 

Client: Retired

Amount Lost: $80,000

Commissions Charged: $33,775

Cold Spring has been retained by a 62-year-old Missouri man seeking $27,600 in damages against a Long Island, NY broker-dealer for putting him in unsuitable positions. In the 14 months he was invested with the firm, he paid $33,775 in commissions. This client had no prior experience in the stock market, yet Cold Spring's analysis showed his account had between $40,000 and $50,000 invested in options.

Client: Salesman

Amount Lost: $27,000

Commissions Charged: $27,000

Cold Spring has been retained by 59-year-old investor from Illinois who is seeking damages against a New York City broker-dealer. Cold Spring's analysis showed this client lost $27,000 and was charged $11,737 in commissions. In the course of six months, our client lost his entire investment as a result of his broker ignoring stop-loss orders and churning his account.

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