Just days after the Wall Street Journal published an article suggesting that the brokerage firm Ameriprise Financial Services was being investigated by state securities regulators for charging customers hundreds of dollars for financial plans that they never received, the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation filed a complaint against the firm.
The complaint alleges that the brokerage company failed to deliver nearly 500 financial plans, conducted unapproved sales contests and intentionally limited compliance oversight. Additionally, the Minneapolis-based brokerage company was accused of failing to disclose adequately all fraudulent activities to the state of New Hampshire while it was under supervision by the state and by an independent consultant in 2005.
In a press release issued by New Hampshire, the Bureau Director stated, “What we’ve found is an unprecedented and widespread compliance failure on a number of levels within the company as well as an unprofessional workplace environment and attitude that would do little to inspire the trust and confidence of New Hampshire investors’ This conduct was a direct result of an Ameriprise sales culture more concerned with sales commissions than compliance.” The regulator said that the company could face penalties and client restitution of up to $10 million.
On the day that the Wall Street Journal article was published, Page Perry questioned on its website whether the incidents described in that article pointed to a wide spread compliance problem within the firm. The comments from the Bureau Director above would appear to answer, at least in part, this question.
Page Perry is a nine lawyer Atlanta-based law firm with over 125 years collective experience representing investors in securities related litigation and arbitration. While past results are not necessarily indicative of future success, Page Perry’s attorneys have recovered over $1,000,000 for clients on more than 30 occasions. The firm is currently involved in cases against Ameriprise Financial Services.