Joseph Cotter Allegedly Excessively And Unsuitably Trades The Accounts Of An Elderly Customer

The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Joseph Cotter. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Joseph Cotter has been the subject of a customer dispute and a FINRA sanction.

Joseph Cotter was a North Carolina based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for thirty-two years. During his career, he was registered with eight different securities firms. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.

His Registrations

• Dean Witter Reynolds (1984-1988)


• Painewebber Incorporated (1988-1992)


• Prudential Securities Incorporated (1992-1996)


• Wachovia Securities (1996-2000)


• Scott & Stringfellow (2000-2006)


• American Municipal Securities (2006-2008)


• Next Financial Group (2008-2016)


• Petersen Investments (2016-2017)

The Allegations

• In June 2016, a customer alleged that Joseph Cotter mismanaged the funds in her brokerage account. This case was settled for $328,646 in damages.


• In October 2017, Joseph Cotter was officially sanctioned by FINRA. The findings in this matter state that he engaged in both excessive and unsuitable trading in the accounts of an elderly customer. As the customer was an unsophisticated investor, she continuously accepted Cotter's recommendations. Due to these alleged actions, he was fined $15,000, forced to pay $100,549.42 in disgorgement, and suspended from acting as a securities broker in any fashion for a period of nine months.

What Does This Mean?

Less than scrupulous securities brokers often view elderly investors as easier targets when deciding on individuals to take advantage of. This is because they believe that elderly investors are far more trusting and far more reliant on their securities brokers. This makes the broker think they can easily get away with highly unsuitable and self-serving trading of an elderly investor's account. This act is also known as financial elder abuse.

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 Joseph Cotter, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation. We work on a contingency basis, which means there are no fees charged unless we collect for you.