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.

The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is currently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker Joseph Michael Fedorko. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Joseph Fedorko had been the subject of multiple customer disputes over the course of his career. He is no longer working as a securities broker in any fashion.

Joseph Fedorko was a Connecticut-based securities broker who had worked in the securities industry for thirty one years. During his career, he had been registered with six different securities firms.

His Registrations 

  • South Richmond Securities (1989-1994)
  • Rickel & Associates (1994-1995)
  • Gruntal & Co. (1995-2000)
  • Josephthal & Co. (2000-2002)
  • Oppenheimer & Co. (2002-2009)
  • Laidlaw & Company (2009-2021)

The Allegations 

  • In March 2014, a customer alleged that Joseph Fedorko had recommended unsuitable investments and used an unsuitable investment strategy for their account. This case was settled for $120,000 in damages.
  • In August 2016, a customer alleged losses on their account, even while their account had tripled in value. This case was settled for $23,000 in damages.
  • In May 2018, a customer alleged that Fedorko had executed unauthorized, unsuitable, and excessive trades in their account. This case was settled for $125,000 in damages.
  • In May 2020, a customer alleged that Fedorko had executed unauthorized, unsuitable, and excessive trades in their account. This case was settled for $750,000 in damages.
  • In December 2021, FINRA officially sanctioned Fedorko for allegedly engaging in excessive and unsuitable trading in an account held by a senior married couple. The findings stated that Fedorko and his member firm had effected transactions in the customers’ account that resulted in approximately $1.1 million in trading losses and generated approximately $760,000 in commissions and markups for the firm, while Fedorko received a percentage of these commissions and markups. As a result of this decision, Fedorko was suspended from acting as a securities broker in all capacities for a period of 10 months and required to pay a $7500 fine.

Churning

Most securities brokers are compensated for their services by charging their customers a percentage of their principal investment whenever executing transactions on their behalf. This method of compensation has created a fraudulent trading practice known as churning where securities brokers trade an investor’s account excessively with the express intent of increasing how much they receive in commissions. This fraudulent act can be incredibly harmful to investors as it both prevents their principal from growing as expected, and it causes the customer to incur the highly unnecessary sales charges paid to the brokers as their commissions. These charges can very easily rack up and significantly drain an investor’s principal.

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 Joseph Michael Fedorko, 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.