Bloomberg reported about a wealthy 93 year old who brought constructive fraud, abuse of fiduciary duty, and other claims before FINRA against J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC and previously registered brokers and investment advisers Evan Schottenstein and Avi Schottenstein. Evan and Avi had been registered through J.P. Morgan. They were also the claimant’s grandchildren. A FINRA panel awarded the claimant approximately $19 million against the bank and brokers.
According to the description of the dispute on Evan Schottenstein’s BrokerCheck report, the “causes of action relate to the allegedly unauthorized purchase and/or sale of various securities in Claimants’ account, including, but not limited to, multiple auto-callable structured notes and various other securities for which Respondent J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC was a market maker, as well as initial public offerings (IPOs) and follow-on offerings (FPOs).” This description leaves out, as reported by Bloomberg, that when Evan and Avi joined J.P. Morgan and brought their grandmother’s account with them, the account was so valuable to J.P. Morgan that it gave one of the brothers a $1.5 million signing bonus.
If you suspect someone you know is the victim of financial elder abuse, the National Council on Aging may be a good resource. According to the National Council, 1 in 10 adults aged 60 and over have experienced some form of elder abuse. As was true in the case in the Bloomberg article, the National Council says that in nearly 60% of elder abuse and neglect cases, the perpetrator is a family member.
The Oregon Department of Justice has free resources and instructions about how to report elder abuse here.
