Ex-Cetera Broker from Texas is Accused of Defrauding Investors

If former Cetera Advisers broker James Christopher Hayne has handled your investments  and you suffered investment losses that you suspect were due to fraud or negligence, you should speak with an experienced stockbroker fraud law firm right away. Over the years, Hayne, a Texas broker, has been named in numerous customer arbitration claims brought  before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

With 17 years in the industry, Hayne, previously was a registered broker with Questar Capital, First Allied Securities, Edward Jones, and Morgan Stanley. His BrokerCheck record shows nine customer disputes, five of which were settled.

Most recently, there was the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority claim brought against Hayne by a customer that was resolved for $325K. The former client had requested $100K in damages. In that investor fraud case, Hayne  was accused of violating both the Texas Securities Act and California Corporate Securities Law, breaching contractual duties to the claimant, negligence in the way he handled the latter’s account, and causing the customer to suffer investment losses.

Another past FINRA arbitration claim against Hayne alleged unsuitable investments, lack of diversification, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and excessive trading. The investor sought $50K. The fraud case was settled for $125K.

Previous investor claims against Hayne have made similar allegations, as well as failure to supervise, inappropriate investment recommendations considering one former customer’s age, health, and investment goals, misrepresentations, excessive commissions, poor performance, and buying securities without another client’s knowledge or consent.

Other Cetera Brokers Accused of Fraud
Hayne is not the only former Cetera broker accused of investor fraud. Ex-Cetera Financial Group adviser George Merhoff is named in 27 customer disputes and was recently barred by FINRA. Cetera fired Merhoff earlier this year.

Ex-Cetera Advisors broker Nina Jessee was also recently barred by FINRA after she didn’t cooperate with its probe into numerous complaints against her, including that she had engaged in outside business activities.

Cetera Advisors, meantime, was just been fined $10M by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for allegedly defrauding investors by selling them mutual fund shares that charged added and more costly fees even though these same customers qualified for less expensive and comparable share classes. It was just in 2017 that five Cetera brokerage firms reached a settlement with FINRA for $3.3M for overcharging retirement plans and charitable organizations for mutual fund fees. The broker-dealers who settled were Cetera Investment Services, Cetera Financial Specialists, First Allied Securities, Summit Brokerage Services, and Girad Securities.

Cetera Broker Fraud Claims
At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LLP (SSEK Law Firm), our Cetera broker fraud attorneys work with investors throughout the US in recouping their losses caused by negligence or fraud. Please contact us today if James Christopher Hayne or another Cetera broker or adviser handled your investments and you believe you suffered unnecessary losses.

Over the years, we have been able to recover many millions of dollars for our clients. Contact SSEK Law Firm today.