Over the last 12 years, Oakes & Fosher has tried and won more FINRA arbitration cases on behalf of individual investors than any other law firm in the country.

*Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based alone on prior results.

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The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker James Flower. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, James Flower has been the subject of multiple customer disputes over the course of his career.

James Flower is a New York-based securities broker. He has worked in the securities industry for twenty-two years. During his career, he has been registered with seventeen different securities firms.

His Registrations

  • Gaines, Berland Inc. (1997)
  • Duke & Co. (1997-1998)
  • Tasin & Company (1998)
  • Whitehall Wellington Investments (1998-2000)
  • Harrison Securities (2001-2003)
  • Continental Broker-Dealer Corp. (2003-2004)
  • Granite Associates (2004)
  • Westrock Advisors (2004)
  • J.P. Turner & Company (2004-2006)
  • Westrock Advisors (2006-2008)
  • Obsidian Financial Group (2008)
  • Prestige Financial Center (2008-2010)
  • Brookstone Securities (2009)
  • Global Arena Capital Corp. (2010-2014)
  • Laidlaw & Company (2014-2015)
  • SW Financial (2015-2019)
  • Spartan Capital Securities (2019-Present)

The Allegations

  • In April 2010, a customer alleged that James Flower misrepresented the characteristics and risks associated with multiple purchases of an ETF, failed to execute a stop loss order, and misrepresented the utilization of margin. This case was settled for $67,500 in damages.
  • In September 2015, a customer alleged that James Flower over-concentrated their account, recommended unsuitable investments, engaged in an excessive use of margin, and churned their account. This case was settled for $250,000 in damages.
  • In September 2015, a customer alleged that James Flower churned their account and recommended unsuitable investments. This case was settled for $45,000 in damages.
  • In June 2017, James Flower was officially sanctioned by FINRA. The findings in this matter state that Flower recommended that thirteen customers invest in a highly volatile exchange-traded note even though he lacked a reasonable basis to believe the transactions were at all suitable for them. According tot he findings, Flower negligently believed that these particular products traded inverse to that of the S&P 500. Because of this, he allegedly unsuitably advised these customers to hold these unsuitable products during the market decline. This unsuitable act caused these customers to lose approximately $250,000 in damages. Due to these alleged actions, James Flower was suspended from acting as a securities broker in any fashion for a period of three months.
  • In April 2020, James Flower became the subject of another FINRA sanction. This sanction is currently pending. According to the findings, James Flower churned the accounts of multiple customers while exercising unauthorized discretion over said accounts. Flower’s excessive trading allegedly caused the account holders to incur losses totaling over $220,000, while Flower generated almost an identical amount in commissions for himself.

Churning

Churning is a fraudulent trading practice committed by securities brokers attempting to increase their own commissions. Brokers are compensated for their services by charging their customers a percentage of their principal investment every time they execute a transaction on their behalf. This can lead to some less than scrupulous brokers executing highly unnecessary trades in an excessive manner to try and obtain as many of those commissions as possible. This act serves no financial benefit to investors and even causes them to incur substantial losses in unnecessary fees and commissions. Churning is a clear and cut example of a securities broker placing their own financial interests ahead of their customers’

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 James Flower, 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.