The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker Walter Valenzuela. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Walter Valenzuela has been the subject of multiple customer disputes over the course of his career.
Walter Valenzuela is a California based securities broker. He has worked in the securities industry for twenty-seven years. During his career, he was registered with three different securities firms.
His Registrations
- M.L. Stern & Co. (1993-2008)
- Hilltop Securities (2008-2020)
- Kestra Investment Services (2020-Present)
The Allegations
- In February 2013, a customer alleged that Walter Valenzuela made material misrepresentations, recommended unsuitable investments, and breached his fiduciary duty concerning municipal securities. This case was settled for $32,000 in damages.
- In August 2017, a customer alleged that Walter Valenzuela recommended unsuitable investments, engaged in an unsuitable use of margin, churned their account, engaged in financial exploitation, breached his fiduciary duty, made material misrepresentations, excessively traded their account, and engaged in financial elder abuse. This case was settled for $400,000 in damages.
- In July 2018, a customer alleged that Walter Valenzuela recommended unsuitable investments, made material misrepresentations, and excessively traded their account. This case was settled for $100,000 in damages.
- In May 2020, a customer alleged that Walter Valenzuela recommended unsuitable investments, made material misrepresentations, and excessively traded their account. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $1 million in damages.
- In June 2020, customers alleged that Walter Valenzuela excessively traded their account, recommended unsuitable investments, made material misrepresentations, and engaged in financial elder abuse. This case is currently pending. The customers are seeking $250,000 in damages.
What Does This Mean?
It is imperative that investors trade their customers’ accounts in a manner suitable for them. This encompasses not only recommending investments that are suitable for them, but also trading customer accounts at a suitable frequency. When securities brokers execute trades in an investor’s account to an excessive degree, it can often cause them to experience significant financial harm. This is because investors are charged additional fees every time that a transaction is executed on their behalf. These fees can very easily rack up to the point that they drastically drain the investor’s principal and prevent them from seeing any desired investment returns.
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 Walter Valenzuela, 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.
