The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is currently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker Hector Ramos. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Hector Ramos was the subject of multiple customer disputes over the course of his career.
Hector Ramos was a New York-based securities broker who worked in the securities industry for nineteen years. During his career, he was registered with eleven different securities firms.
His Registrations
- Prudential Securities (2000-2002)
- Sunamerica Securities (2002-2005)
- AIG Financial Advisors (2005-2006)
- ING Financial Partners (2006-2007)
- Morgan Stanley (2007-2007)
- Morgan Stanley & Co. (2007-2008)
- Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith (2008-2011)
- Morgan Stanley (2011-2014)
- Bishop, Rosen & Co. (2014-2016)
- Westpark Capital (2016-2018)
- Wynston Hill Capital (2018-2019)
The Allegations
- In June 2014, a customer alleged that Hector Ramos recommended unsuitable investments, and then paid them $10,000 to cover losses so they would not make a complaint. This case was settled for $120,000 in damages.
- In September 2016, Ramos was officially sanctioned by FINRA for allegedly paying previous customers $10,000 to cover losses so they would not make a complaint regarding portfolio losses from Ramos’ unsuitable investment recommendations. As a result of these findings, Ramos was suspended from acting as a securities broker in all capacities for a period of twenty days and fined.
- In June 2020, Ramos was officially sanctioned by FINRA for allegedly making unsuitable investment recommendations to a customer that was unemployed, disabled, living on a fixed income, and had limited investment experience. The findings stated that Ramos repeatedly recommended that the customers invest primarily in speculative energy sector securities despite the volatility of the energy market and the customer’s investment portfolio. The customer realized losses totaling $86,891. As a result of these findings, Ramos was made to pay restitution totaling $50,000 and was suspended from acting as a securities broker in all capacities for three months.
What Does This Mean?
Securities brokers have a duty to their customers to always act in their best financial interests. This is their duty as a fiduciary. This means that brokers can only recommend investments that their customers are actually suited for. Brokers like Hector Ramos can determine if a particular investment is suitable for their customer by looking at various different factors provided to them by the customer. This includes the customer’s investment objectives, financial situation, liquidity needs, and risk tolerance. Brokers who invest their customers contrary to these needs have either done so in a fraudulent manner, placing their own financial interests ahead of their customer’s, or in a negligent one. Regardless if the broker’s intent was fraudulent or negligent, managing a customer’s account unsuitably disqualifies them from the ability to perform their duties in the required manner.
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 due to this fraud or negligence 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 Hector Ramos, 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.
