Broker Dealer Negligence Lawyers

Did You Work With Ex-Stifel Nicolaus Broker Joseph Crespi and Suffer Investment Losses?

As Broker-Dealer Is Ordered to Pay $3.2M, Investors Struggle To Recoup Their Money

Our broker dealer negligence lawyers are speaking to former customers of ex-financial advisor Joseph Crespi to determine whether they have grounds for a FINRA lawsuit against Stifel Nicolaus, which is where he was a registered representative from 2018 to 2022. On May 1, 2023 Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin ordered the brokerage firm to pay a $2.5M penalty and over $700K in restitution after finding that it disregarded red flags indicating that Crespi was allegedly engaging in unauthorized trading and charged excessive fees to individual investors, churches, and nonprofit organizations.

Per the consent order, Crespi took part in predatory sales practices to garner higher commissions and the broker-dealer purportedly ignored warnings by its own branch manager that something was amiss. This is the third enforcement action by the state since 2018 in which Stifel Nicolaus has been ordered to pay restitution to Massachusetts customers.

Crespi, who became an Ameriprise broker last year, was fired by that firm.

If you think you may have been the victim of broker misconduct involving Joseph Crespi or another Stifel Nicolaus financial advisor, Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (investorlawyers.com) can help you explore legal options. We represent individual investors, organizations, churches, and other institutional investors in pursuing damages from the broker-dealers whose actions, or lack thereof, caused serious portfolio losses.

What Is Failure To Supervise and Why Can This Be Grounds For A Brokerage Firm Negligence Claim?

Even if the broker-dealer was not directly involved in their financial advisor’s misconduct, if the firm neglected to properly supervise them and their activities in clients’ accounts, disregarded red flags indicating possible wrongdoing, or improperly trained the registered representative—and this caused customer losses— the investor who was harmed may be able to file a lawsuit seeking financial recovery.

How Do You File a Failure to Supervise Lawsuit?

Pursuing damages from a broker-dealer is never easy, which is why you need skilled broker negligence lawyers representing you. If you do have grounds for a securities claim, you will likely need to file your lawsuit in FINRA arbitration. First, however, you must prepare a statement of claim detailing your losses and the allegations against the brokerage firm.

To submit the strongest securities fraud case possible, you want seasoned failure to supervise attorneys that know how to properly investigate your losses, determine their cause, and build a solid claim on your behalf. At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, we have been representing investors against broker-dealers for over 30 years. Through arbitration, mediation, negotiation, and litigation, we have collectively recovered many millions of dollars for thousands of clients.

While having a securities regulator go after a brokerage firm for failure to supervise and other acts of broker negligence is important if you want to maximize your chances of receiving damages, consider filing your own broker-dealer fraud lawsuit.

How To Contact Us: 

More than 90% of the investors we represented have received full or partial financial recovery. To request your free, no-obligation case assessment, call (800) 259-9010 or contact us online.