Joseph Eschleman Allegedly Exercises Discretion in Customers’ Accounts Without Authorization

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

Joseph Eschleman is a California based securities broker. He has worked in the securities industry for eighteen years. During his career, he has been registered with three different securities firms.

His Registrations

• Prudential Securities Incorporated (1999-2003)


• Wells Fargo (2003-2017)


• Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments (2017-Present)

The Allegations

• In April 2014, claimants alleged that Joseph Eschleman misrepresented the services he was comfortable offering. The claimants also alleged that he did not conduct active management, but charged full advisory fees. This case was settled for $11,488 in damages.


• In April 2017, Joseph Eschleman was discharged from his position at Wells Fargo due allegations that he learned of a client's passing, and then revised notes to reflect that said client had verbally authorized him to utilize discretion.


• In August 2018, Joseph Eschleman was officially sanctioned by FINRA. The findings in this matter state that he allegedly exercised discretion in customers' accounts even though he did not get written authority from his member firm or from the customers. Due to these allegations, he was fined $5,000 and suspended for a period of ten days.

What is Discretion?

Securities brokers are required to obtain their customer's authorization before executing trades on their behalf. This is because investors are entitled to the opportunity to decide for themselves if they want to be invested in a particular security. There is a process known as discretion that enables brokers to trade their customers' accounts without obtaining authorization before every trade. However, before a broker can begin engaging in this process, they must first obtain the account holder's express written authorization and have their member firm accept the account as suitable for discretionary trading.

Discretion can be a very slippery slope as it gives securities brokers an excess of power. Many securities brokers will take advantage of their discretionary authority and place investors in trades they are not suited for. They may also use the opportunity to trade their customer's account to an excessive degree which results in unnecessary fees and trading losses.

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 Eschleman, 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.