Lorene Fairbanks Allegedly Misrepresents Options Trading Risks

The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Lorene Fairbanks. According to her publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Lorene Fairbanks has been the subject of multiple customer disputes.

Lorene Fairbanks was an Ohio based securities broker. She worked in the securities industry for eighteen years. During her career, she was registered with three different securities firms. She is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.

Her Registrations

• Citigroup Global Markets (1996-2006)


• Merrill Lynch (2006-2012)


• Ameriprise Financial Services (2014-2017)

His Allegations

• In April 2011, a customer alleged that Lorene Fairbanks executed unauthorized trades, excessively traded their account, made unsuitable investment recommendations, and made material misrepresentations. This case was settled for $104,000 in damages.


• In February 2012, Lorene Fairbanks was discharged from her position at Merrill Lynch. This was due to allegations that she mis-marked orders and exercised discretion in non-discretionary accounts. She was officially sanctioned by FINRA two years later due to these alleged actions. FINRA fined her $10,000 and suspended her from acting as a securities broker in any fashion for a period of thirty days.


• In August 2012, a customer alleged that Lorene Fairbanks engaged in  unauthorized trading and made unsuitable investment recommendations. This case was settled for $11,050 in damages.


• In October 2012, a customer alleged that Lorene Fairbanks made unsuitable investment recommendations, engaged in unauthorized trading, and made material misrepresentations. This case was settled for $72,000 in damages.


• In April 2015, a customer alleged that Lorene Fairbanks  churned their account, breached contract, breached her fiduciary duty, made material misrepresentations, handled their account negligently, and mis-marked orders. This case was settled for $15,000 in damages.


• In April 2017, Lorene Fairbanks was permitted to resign from her position at Ameriprise Financial following allegations that she violated the firm's policy regarding borrowing funds from a client.


• In July 2017, a customer alleged that Lorene Fairbanks misrepresented risks associated with options trading and over-concentrated their portfolio in said high risk options. This case was settled for $125,000 in damages.


• In November 2017, a customer alleged that Lorene Fairbanks made material misrepresentations and unsuitable investment recommendations. This case was settled for $50,000 in damages.


• In January 2018, Lorene Fairbanks was once again sanctioned by FINRA. This was due to the above mentioned allegations that she violated her member firm's policy regarding borrowing funds from a customer. Due to the alleged actions, she was fined $7,500 and suspended from acting as a securities broker in any fashion for a period of five months.

Options Trading

Options trading is a very complicated investment strategy that is only suitable for certain types of investors. The process is essentially two parties betting against each other regarding the future success or failure of a particular security. The party in the short position takes on all of the risk by writing the option. By writing a 'call' option, they have agreed to sell the security to the party in the long position at a predetermined strike price should they so request it. In a 'put' option, the individual in the short position agrees to purchase the security from the other party should they request it. The individual in the long position has until the option's expiration date to request this. The strike price is set in stone at the time the option is written, and it must be honored despite what the security is worth at the time of the option's expiration date. This fact exposes the party in the short position to a substantial amount of risk. This is because it leaves them on the hook for covering the difference in value if the security has increased drastically in a 'call' option, or decreased in a 'put' option.

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 Lorene Fairbanks, 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.