The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker James Bradley Schwartz. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, James Bradley Schwartz has been the subject of multiple customer disputes.
James Bradley Schwartz was a New York-based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for eighteen years. During his career, he was registered with twelve different securities firms. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.
His Registrations
- First American Equities (1998-1999)
- Salomon Grey Financial Corporation (1999-2001)
- First Montauk Securities Corp. (2001-2002)
- Investec Ernst & Company (2002)
- Maxim Group (2002-2004)
- Gunnallen Financial (2004-2010)
- Paulson Investment Company (2010-2011)
- Rockwell Global Capital (2011-2012)
- John Thomas Financial (2012-2013)
- Aegis Capital Corp. (2013-2016)
- First Standard Financial Company (2016)
- Joseph Gunnar & Co. (2016-2017)
The Allegations
- In November 2015, a customer alleged that James Bradley Schwartz executed unauthorized trades, managed their account negligently, breached his fiduciary duty, and made material misrepresentations. This case was settled for $95,000 in damages.
- In January 2016, customers alleged that James Bradley Schwartz excessively traded their account, managed their account negligently, breached his fiduciary duty, and recommended unsuitable investments. This case was settled for $180,000 in damages.
- In June 2016, customers alleged James Bradley Schwartz made unsuitable investment recommendations and mishandled their accounts. This case was settled for $782,000 in damages.
- In April 2017, a customer alleged that James Bradley Schwartz recommended unsuitable investments, executed unauthorized trades, excessively traded their account, made material misrepresentations, omitted material facts, breached contract, and breached his fiduciary duty. This case was settled for $100,000 in damages.
- In August 2017, customers alleged that James Bradley Schwartz recommended unsuitable investments, executed unauthorized trades, managed their account negligently, violated federal securities laws, breached his fiduciary duty, and excessively traded their account. This case was settled for $800,000 in damages.
- In February 2018, a customer alleged that James Bradley Schwartz executed unauthorized trades and recommended unsuitable investments. This case was settled for $660,786 in damages.
- In May 2018, a customer alleged that James Bradley Schwartz managed their account negligently, executed unauthorized trades, churned their account, recommended unsuitable investments, breached contract, and breached his fiduciary duty. This case was settled for $132,500 in damages.
- In February 2019, James Bradley Schwartz was officially sanctioned by FINRA. The findings in this matter state that he churned multiple customer accounts at his member firm. Schwartz alleged churning caused the afflicted individuals to lose more than $660,000 while generating approximately $277,705 in commissions for himself. The findings also state that Schwartz executed these trades without the customers’ authorization. Due to these alleged actions, James Bradley Schwartz was barred by FINRA from acting as a securities broker in any fashion.
- In January 2020, a customer alleged that James Bradley Schwartz excessively traded their account, recommended unsuitable trades, and made false and misleading statements to them. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $200,000 in damages.
- In March 2020, a customer alleged that James Bradley Schwartz recommended unsuitable investments, breached contract, and breached his fiduciary duty. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $341,386 in damages.
- Also in March 2020, another customer alleged that James Bradley Schwartz recommended unsuitable investments, breached contract, and breached his fiduciary duty. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $48,732 in damages.
What Does This Mean?
Securities brokers have a legal obligation to their customers to always act in their best financial interests. This obligation is also referred to as their fiduciary duty. The most important aspect of this duty is making sure the investments they recommend are actually suitable for their customers. Brokers can determine a customer’s suitability by analyzing important financial factors specific to every customer. These include the customer’s age, financial situation, risk tolerance, investment objectives, and liquidity needs. Brokers who invest their customers in a manner contrary to their specific factors have exposed them to significant financial risk. This is true regardless of the broker’s intent as they are expected to conduct the necessary due diligence required to prevent investors from being harmed by investments they are woefully unsuited for.
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 Bradley Schwartz, 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.
