Articles Tagged with Home Shopping Network

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that it is suing Ami Forte, a former star Morgan Stanley (MS) broker. Forte is accused of making unsuitable trades in the account of Home Shopping Network co-founder Roy M. Speer, who was mentally impaired and bedridden at the end of his life.

Forte earned over $9M commissions in less than a year from her work with Speer alone, and overall his accounts were responsible for nearly 90% of the commissions she made. At one point she was considered one of the highest earning female financial advisers in the US.

While the FINRA fraud complaint only refers to the older investor by his initials, news sources and other court documents identify the elder financial fraud victim as Mr. Speer. The Home Shopping Network co-founder, who was 80 when he died in 2012, had an estimated worth of about $775M in 2003. For a time, he was romantically involved with Forte.