Oppenheimer & Co. is the brokerage subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc., which is a Canadian company that was founded in 1950 to work with large institutional investors. This broker-dealer is one of three subsidiaries originally under Oppenheimer.
The other two subsidiaries are institutional investment manager Oppenheimer Capital Corporation and Oppenheimer Management Corp., which was later spun off and acquired by Invesco.
Today, Oppenheimer & Co. is a New York-based investment bank and full-service broker-dealer that services businesses, institutions, and high-net-worth individuals. It is also a registered investment advisor. Oppenheimer has offices in New York City, Long Island, Boca Raton, and other large cities in the United States. With over 1100 financial advisors, the firm manages more than $22B.
Our broker misconduct attorneys represent high-net-worth and institutional investors who have suffered losses as a result of broker fraud and negligence. Please contact Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) today.
Examples of Regulatory Violations Involving Oppenheimer & Co.According to BrokerCheck, the firm has 273 disclosures on record, including regulatory violations. Here are some of them:
December 2019: UIT Excessive Sales ChargesThe Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ordered Oppenheimer & Co. to pay over $3.8M in customer restitution over potentially excessive sales charges involving early unit investment trust (UIT) rollovers. The broker-dealer was also fined $800K for not reasonably supervising these rollovers.
January 2015: Federal Securities Law ViolationsThe US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the brokerage firm with violating federal securities laws related to the improper sale of penny stocks in unregistered offerings for customers.
Oppenheimer & Co. not only admitted to wrongdoing but also the firm agreed to pay a $10M fine to resolve the charges. It also paid another $10M in a parallel civil case brought by the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
December 2013: Supervisory Deficiencies and Unfair PricingFor alleged supervisory deficiencies and charging unfair and unreasonable prices involving municipal securities transactions, Oppenheimer & Co. paid a $675K fine and $246,974 plus interest in restitution. One trader, in particular, was involved in most of the transactions at issue.
August 2013: Unregistered Penny Stock SalesFINRA fined Oppenheimer & Co. more than $1.4M over unregistered penny stock sales. Additionally, they did not have an adequate anti-money laundering program that could detect and report these suspect transactions.
February 2010: Sale of Auction-Rate SecuritiesIn settlements reached with the Massachusetts Securities Division and the New York Attorney General, Oppenheimer & Co. agreed to buy back $31M in auction-rate securities (ARS). These illiquid investments were sold to investors resulting in investors being stuck with them when the ARS market failed.
July 2007: Supervisory FailuresMassachusetts fined Oppenheimer & Co. $1M for supervisory failures that allowed one of its brokers to defraud a widow. The brokerage firm also paid over $1M to the widow.
Investors Sue Oppenheimer & Co. Over Alleged $110M Ponzi ScamOn August 1, 2021, investors filed a securities fraud lawsuit against Oppenheimer over the investment losses they sustained in an alleged Ponzi scam involving ex-broker John J. Woods.
The former Georgia financial advisor is also facing SEC charges. He is accused of raising many millions of dollars for Horizon Private Equity III LLC and running the scheme through his investment advisory firm, Southport Capital.
The plaintiffs contend that the broker-dealer disregarded red flags of Woods’ alleged fraud. This allowed the ex-Oppenheimer financial advisor to move millions of dollars out of their accounts at the firm. The brokerage firm let Woods resign in 2016. Among Woods’ more than 400 alleged victims, many of them were elderly retirees.
Oppenheimer also has been named in FINRA arbitration claims brought by customers seeking to recoup their investment losses and other damages.
Seasoned Institutional Investor and High-Net-Worth Individual Investor LawyersEven with their ability to handle more risk, and with more money in their accounts, both institutional investors and high-net-worth individual investors can suffer significant losses. They too need the help of experienced securities attorneys to pursue damages against large firms such as Oppenheimer & Co.
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