Morgan Keegan Hit with Large Penalty for Fouling Ex-NBA Star

Following a dispute that was resolved in arbitration, broker-dealer Morgan Keegan & Co. must pay former NBA player Horace Grant $1.46 million. The amount is the largest arbitration loss for Morgan Keegan to date. Morgan Keegan is the securities brokerage firm of Regions Financial Corp.

The award, issued by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is for damages that Grant incurred because he invested in Morgan Keegan’s risky mutual funds that were involved in collateralized debt obligations connected to residential mortgages. Grant had originally sought $1.5 million for the damages he sustained.

There are still several hundred investment fraud lawsuits pending against the brokerage firm over mutual funds involving subprime mortgages that declined because the US housing market fell apart and loans defaulted. Up to 95% of the funds’ value has dissolved since the middle of 2007.

Green used to play for the Chicago Bull, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Seattle Supersonics, and the Orlando Magic. In his arbitration case, the former NBA basketball player contended that Morgan Keegan misrepresented the level of risk that came with the bond funds that he purchased.

Already, Morgan Keegan has lost a number of cases in 2009. Seven of the cases have cost the broker-dealer $3 million. Other professional athletes who have filed lawsuits against Morgan Keegan for losses that they say they sustained from the bond funds are Jerome Woods, formerly of the Kansas City Chiefs, and former St. Louis Cardinals baseball player Tim McCarver. Woods won $950,000 against the brokerage firm while McCarver resolved his claim for $100,000.

Our stockbroker fraud law firm represents numerous investors who have sued Morgan Keegan for misrepresenting risky investments as safer kinds of investments.

Related Web Resources:
Ex-NBA star wins $1.45M arbitration claim against Morgan Keegan, Investment News, September 14, 2009
Morgan Keegan ordered to pay former NBA star $1.4M, Memphis Business Journal, September 14, 2009
NFL retiree gets $950,000 for Morgan Keegan mutual fund losses, Commercial Appeal, April 14, 2009
McCarver Awarded $100K in Morgan Keegan Claim, Memphis Daily, February 26, 2009
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