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Bank of America Broker Betrayed Trust - Retirees Claim - Zibb.com

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Oct 26, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --

The law firm of Securities Fraud Attorney Mark A. Tepper has filed claim against Banc of America Investment Services, Inc., a brokerage firm operating in Florida and located inside branches of Bank of America Corporation.

The claim contends that a Bank of America Broker gained the trust of an 82-year-old retiree who had suffered several strokes and his 75-year-old wife, and then took advantage of that trust because the couple was too old to protect themselves from the Broker's misconduct.

"The Broker gained Claimants' trust by (1) spending time at their house as often as four times a week; (2) fixing things in the house that needed repair; and (3) playing chess with Claimant. As a result of these frequent contacts, the Broker convinced Claimants, to purchase high risk, unsuitable investments, without full disclosure, in companies that had little, or no previous operating history," the claim alleges.

The claim, filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) alleges that Banc of America Investment Services should have detected and prevented the Broker's unsuitable recommendations in unregistered securities that were illiquid, with no recognizable market value and far beyond the seniors' risk tolerance. The retirees lost $1.425 million dollars in irreplaceable capital, the claim alleges.

"Claimants depended on the Broker for his help and advice in both financial and personal matters. The Broker took advantage of the fact that Claimants' children and grandchildren lived a substantial distance from the Claimants' Florida home," the claim alleges.

"It's outrageous that seniors are regularly being victimized. According to Florida's Department of Financial Services, the number of complaints from Florida seniors has nearly quadrupled in the last three years," Tepper said.

About Mark A. Tepper, P.A. (www.MarkTepper.com)

Attorney Mark Tepper has earned the reputation of "Investor Advocate" while practicing law for over 30 years and representing the small investor. FINRA arbitrators recently upheld claims filed by Tepper against a number of large financial services companies, recovering investor losses from Merrill Lynch (MER) for high risk investment in Fannie Mae Preferred Stock, as well as against AmTrust Investment Services. A member of the Florida, New York and California Bars, Mr. Tepper is AV(R)-rated, the highest rating of lawyers in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

    MEDIA CONTACT:
    Mark Hopkinson, NewsMark Public Relations
    561-852-5767 mhopkinson@newsmarkpr.com

SOURCE Mark A. Tepper

http://www.MarkTepper.com

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www.mmexecutive.com

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www.reuters.com

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business.theatlantic.com

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http://business.theatlantic.com/2009/11/bank_of_america_might_not_have_cared_about_merrills_losses.php