Retirement Losses: First Allied Securities and Financial Adviser to Pay Retirees Over $1.6M for Investment Advice, MetLife to Pay Another $189M to Individuals Owed Pensions, and Duke University Will Pay Over $10M to Settles Lawsuits Alleging ERISA Violations

Investors Alleging Negligence and Mishandling of Their Retirement Funds Win FINRA Case
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) panel arbitration is ordering First Allied Securities and financial adviser Larry Glenn Boggs to pay claimants and early retirees Nita and Mike Snow over $578K in compensatory damages, $500,000 in punitive damages, $350K in attorney’s fees, and $60K in other costs related to losses they sustained. Boggs had worked with the Snows on their early retirement plan, which included investing in the Sun America Life-issued variable annuity the Polaris Advantage II and other investments.

In their securities arbitration claim, the Snows sought compensation from Boggs, First Allied Securities, First Allied Advisory Securities, and American Retirement Solutions of Louisiana, LLC. All of them denied wrongdoing.

Meantime, the Snows alleged the following causes of action:

• Negligent misrepresentation
• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Negligence
• Negligent supervision
• Tennessee Consumer Protection Act violations
• Derivative liability on the parts of American Retirement Solutions and First Allied

The Snows contended that if they hadn’t retired early, they would have made another $730K, as well as Social Security benefits of about $300K had it not been for Boggs’ advice. They also believe that Mike Snow would have made about $190K and other benefits in his 401(k) retirement plan if he’d kept on working. Their case contends that their losses are also in part due to their investing in the Polaris Advantage II.

The panel went on to dismiss all claims against First Allied Advisory with prejudice. American Retirement Solutions has already settled with the Snows.

MetLife Must Pay New York Regulator $19.75M Penalty for Not Paying Pensions
New York’s’ Department of Financial Services has imposed a $19.75M penalty against MetLife Inc. after finding that the insurer did not pay more than 13,000 people the pensions they were owed. MetLife has already paid $123M to these individuals and will pay another $189M to those who did not receive their pension payments or whose payments were delayed.

In December. MetLife paid a $1M settlement in Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin’s administrative case over misleading statements the insurer made to investors after not paying pension benefits to thousands of retirees it had “presumed dead.” The error went back as far back as 1992. In that settlement, MetLife agreed to pay hundreds of Massachusetts retirees and beneficiaries the payments they were owed with interest.

The Massachusetts and New York regulator cases are related in that they are over the same pension issues that have affected thousands of individuals in both states and elsewhere in the US.

Duke University Will Pay Over $10M to Resolve Two Retirement Plan Lawsuits
To settle two retirement plan lawsuits alleging breach of its obligations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Duke University has consented to pay $10.65M. The complaints accused the Duke of compelling its 403(b) plan to sustain recordkeeping costs that were unreasonable even as investment options failed to perform well.

As part of the settlement, most of the class members will be paid their distributions in their tax-deferred retirement accounts. Class members that are no longer with the retirement plan or don’t have an active account any more will have the choice of receiving the money they are owed via check or having it rolled over into a different tax-deferred account.

Retirement Fraud Lawyers
At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LLP (SSEK Law Firm), we are committed to helping investors who have lost their retirement and savings funds because their accounts were improperly handled. Please contact our skilled retirement losses attorneys at SSEK Law Firm if you are one of those investors so that we can help you explore your legal options.