The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker Julian Munoz. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Julian Munoz has been the subject of multiple customer disputes.
Julian Munoz is a Puerto Rico based securities broker. He has worked in the securities industry for fifteen years. During his career, he has been registered with four different securities firms.
His Registrations
- Wachovia Securities (2004-2007)
- Santander Securities (2007-2014)
- Financial Telesis (2014)
- Independent Financial Group (2014-Present)
The Allegations
- In January 2016, a customer alleged that Julian Munoz breached his fiduciary duty, managed their account negligently, committed fraud, and breached contract all in connection with Puerto Rico bonds and closed-end funds. This case was settled for $4.25 million in damages.
- In April 2016, another customer alleged that Julian Munoz breached his fiduciary duty, managed their account negligently, committed fraud, and breached contract in connection with Puerto Rico municipal bonds and closed-end funds. This case was settled for $205,000 in damages.
- In December 2017, a customer alleged that Julian Munoz chose unsuitable products, over-concentrated their account, violated securities laws, committed fraud, managed their account negligently, breached contract, breached his fiduciary duty, and violated Puerto Rico contract law in connection with Puerto Rico municipal bonds and closed-end funds.
- In January 2020, Julian Munoz was officially sanctioned by FINRA. The findings in this matter state that he solicited $30,000 from a member firm customer in exchange for a promissory note. However, this note did not provide the customer with any interest. This was in direct violation of the firm’s policy regarding soliciting loans from customers. Due to these alleged actions, Julian Munoz was fined $5,000 and was suspended from acting as a securities broker in any fashion for a period of three months.
What Does This Mean?
Most municipal bonds are subject to federal, state, and local taxes. However, since Puerto Rico is not technically a state, they were able to find a loophole that allowed them to issue municipal bonds that were triple exempt from federal, state, and local taxes. Usually, for bond purchasers to receive the benefits of a particular tax exemption, they are supposed to be located where the bond is purchased. However, this was not the case with the Puerto Rico bonds. These products could be purchased from anywhere in the country and still provide purchasers with the tax exemptions. This proved very alluring to investors and made these municipal bonds and closed-end funds very popular. However, this contributed to a decline in Puerto Rico’s financial status. This continued until Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy and defaulted on these issued bonds.
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 Julian Munoz, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation. We handle cases on a contingency basis, which means there are no fees charged unless we collect for you.
