According to InvestmentNews, there are six pending FINRA arbitration claims against Morgan Stanley (MS) and its former broker Angel Aquino-Velez (Aquino-Velez) concerning his selling Puerto Rico investments. The claimants are alleging misrepresentation and unsuitability regarding the sale of Puerto Rico closed-end funds and bonds they purchased through Aquino-Velez, who is based in Miami, and the brokerage firm.
InvestmentNews also reports that according to FINRA’s BrokerCheck database, Morgan Stanley has already resolved four FINRA arbitration claims valued at $2.4 million related to Aquino-Velez and Puerto Rico municipal bond investments. Aquino-Velez, who left Morgan Stanley a few months ago, was recently selling Puerto Rico COFINA bonds, which are securities backed by the U.S. territory’s sales tax revenue. Prior to working at Morgan Stanley, Aquino-Velez was with UBS Financial Services (UBS) and Merrill Lynch (BAC).
Puerto Rico Bond Fraud Losses
At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LTD LLP, our Puerto Rico bond fraud lawyers have been working hard these past four years to help investors who sustained serious losses when the island’s municipal bonds began to fall in value in 2013. For many of our clients, their portfolios should not have been so heavily concentrated in Puerto Rico bond funds and bonds, if at all, except that they were given bad investment advice. Many investors lost everything.
Earlier this year, the U.S. territory was forced to file for bankruptcy after efforts to restructure $70 billion of municipal debt failed. The majority of the money that Puerto Rico currently owes is to individual investors and small businesses. CNN reports that according to Puerto Rico Clearinghouse founder Cate Long, hedge funds are owed less than 25% of that debt. Now, everyone on the island is also grappling with the devastation and destruction wrought by Hurricanes Maria and Irma.
Call us For a Free Case Consultation
At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LTD LLP, we represent retail investors, high net worth individual investors, and institutional investors. Our Puerto Rico bond fraud attorneys will continue to aggressively pursuing FINRA arbitration claims and court actions for investors against broker-dealers such as Morgan Stanley, UBS Puerto Rico (UBS-PR), Santander Securities (SAN), Oriental Securities and other firms, as well as against their brokers who were negligent.
Contact us today so that we can help you explore your legal options.
Ex-Morgan Stanley broker at center of Puerto Rico bond disputes, InvestmentNews, September 28, 2017
More Blog Posts:
After Hurricane Maria and Loss of Power in Puerto Rico, PREPA Bondholders Could Lose Investments For Good, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, September 16, 2017
UBS Fights Insurers’ $20 Million Lawsuit Over Puerto Rico Bond Claims, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, August 31, 2017