The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Edward Matthes. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Edward Matthes has been the subject of numerous customer disputes.
Edward Matthes was a Wisconsin based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for twenty years. During his career, he was registered with four different securities firms. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.
His Registrations
- AAL Capital Management Corporation (1996-1997)
- Thrivent Investment Management (1999-2012)
- MML Investors Services (2006)
- Mutual of Omaha Investor Services (2012-2019)
The Allegations
According to findings released by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2020, Edward Matthes apparently defrauded 26 of his member firm customers–most of whom were elderly. Matthes allegedly stole approximately $2.4 million from these customers while operating what is known as a Ponzi scheme. When operating a Ponzi scheme, a broker solicits funds from investors while providing them detailed information about how they plan to invest the funds. However, instead of investing the funds in the manner described, the broker, or group of brokers, then diverts the funds to their own personal accounts. Often times, this money is then used for the broker’s own personal benefit such as funding luxurious lifestyles or paying off debts. In order to keep their scheme running, the broker then provides investors with falsified financial documents to present a false appearance of growth. In order to pay investor dividends, the broker will usually then use funds solicited from later rounds of investors. This continues until the entire thing collapses, as it did for Edward Matthes. Mutual of Omaha Investor Services received twelve complaints throughout March and April of 2019 from customers alleging that Edward Matthes stole funds from them. Eleven of these complaints have been settled for a total of $1.6 million in damages. One complaint is still currently pending with the customers seeking $519,950 in damages. Due to these alleged actions, Edward Matthes was terminated from his position at Mutual of Omaha Investor Services and was barred by the SEC from acting as a securities broker in any fashion.
Oakes & Fosher Can Help
Many investors are unaware of the legal recourse available to them after losing money due to securities broker fraud and/or negligence. The truth is that investors who have lost money in this fashion may actually be entitled to damages.
Oakes & Fosher dedicates its entire legal practice to helping investors across the nation. If you, or someone you know, have lost money investing with Edward Matthes, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation. Oakes & Fosher handles cases on a contingency basis, which means there are no fees charged unless we collect for you.
