Investor Information Center

Protecting Yourself from Security Losses

Most people who make an investment, either through a stockbroker, financial advisor, or as an individual investor, often times risk losing the value of their money in stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and direct investments as a result of being misinformed about their securities.

More than ever, life savings disappear along with investment portfolios, due to Ponzi schemes, fraud, and other various forms of stockbroker misconduct. Being able to recognize when there are problems in your account and seeking immediate legal action from a qualified attorney with extensive years of legal experience in helping investors can protect you from security losses.

At JSB Law LLC, there is an exceptional team with over 20 years of experience in financial fraud and securities law. We can help protect individual investors from losing their securities by identifying problems that may have gone unnoticed in their monthly account statements. We are here to help you resolve all types of security issues in an effort to win back your investments. If you have any doubts about how your broker or financial advisor is trading stocks or other investments on your behalf, call us at 331.248.4330.

Insurance Abuse

When an insurance agent purposefully tries to generate a commission by persuading a client to turn down an insurance product and substitute it with another product that has little or no economic value to the client, this is a form of insurance abuse. There are many different types of insurance abuses, from “twisting” to theft of premiums, insurance agents defraud investors.

If you own or owned an insurance policy and suspect your insurance agent of abusive practices involving the sales or servicing of your policy, John Sheridan Burke LLC can help you sort through the complex issues that can affect your investments. Call us at 331.248.4330

Recovering your investment losses

Our main goal at JSB Law LLC is to ensure our client’s investments are protected against insurance fraud and stockbroker negligence. We can help you take preventative action to prevent risks involved or recover losses due to misrepresentation and omissions on accounts.

Helping you recover financial losses

There are certain steps that will need to be taken in order to recover your investment losses. Our attorneys at JSB Law LLC, can walk you through the process with ease and expertise. Together, we will work as a team to find any red flags based on important factors in your investment loss, including:

  • Examining your stockbroker or investment firm
  • Seeing if your financial advisor acted accordingly to your financial objectives
  • Reviewing your past investment experiences
  • Reviewing the types of investments that were made

Common Claims Against Brokers

Investors may not always know the motives of their stockbroker or financial advisor who recommends a financial investment. As a result, investors can find themselves the victims of various financial scams, fraud or stockbroker negligence. When this happens you need a skilled securities attorney, who can represent you in recovery of the losses you suffered as a result of investment fraud.

At JSB Law LLC, our attorneys aggressively fight to protect our clients from being further victimized in investment schemes. Many times, people are afraid to ask questions regarding their investments because they may not understand the risks and objectives a specific investment offered by their stockbroker or investment advisor and they rely upon the good faith of their broker in providing them with suitable investments.

Our experienced attorneys can thoroughly investigate a broker’s track record to find out how many times a broker may have been subject to customer complaints. We understand that when you are being tempted by promised higher returns from an investment, you should also be told about the risks the stock broker or financial advisor is selling you. Let us help you to resolve common claims you may have against your broker or brokerage firm.

Your Advocates in Stockbroker Disputes

Common claims against brokers cover a wide range of fraudulent investment activities, and our firm has handled a variety of disputed claims, including:

  • Churning – a claim where the stockbroker engages in excessive trading of a customer’s account in order to generate commission for him/herself and the broker-dealer, without the customers investment goals in mind. This often leads to excessive or unauthorized trading in a customer’s account.
  • Breach of Fiduciary Duty – often referred to as a “common law claim”, occurs when brokers act as fiduciaries, handling a customer’s money with a high degree of trust and confidence, and the brokers breach their duties. When a customer feels their broker or financial advisor has violated the terms of their agreement, they can file a claim in accordance with stockbroker negligence.

If you suffer investment losses as a result of the stockbroker’s malfeasance, you will need an exceptional securities attorney who has experience in securities arbitration and litigation. Our attorneys can offer you legal guidance and support in recovering lost investments at the hands of a broker or financial advisor.

Contact Us Today

If you’ve been the victim of stockbroker fraud, either as an individual or institutional investor, contact the law firm of JSB Law LLC today. We can help you to recover the financial damages that have been done on your account and work out a favorable financial solution that’s right for you. To contact us, call 331.248.4330.

Ponzi Scheme

We have represented many client cases involving one of the most enticing investment scams, commonly referred to as the Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme is nothing more than a fraudulent investment operation where investment returns/profits are paid to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, as opposed to net revenues generated by any real business. Financial advisors and brokers utilize this technique, in order to carry out their fraudulent investment scams.

Named after Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrant who utilized this infamous technique in the United States back in 1903, today this scheme continues to cause many financial investors to lose money before legal authorities finally catch the perpetrator. Regardless of how well structured a Ponzi scheme may seem, it is destined to collapse since there are no underlying earnings from the money that is received by the fraudulent agent.

Qualified Ponzi Scheme Investor Defense Attorneys

If you feel you’ve been involved in a Ponzi scheme, the attorneys at JSB Law LLC, can offer you the legal help you need. We have more than 25 years of combined experience with handling cases, where investors file a lawsuit against a brokerage firm, involving a financial advisor or broker promising extraordinary returns on the investments only to eventually discover, their investments are only being paid out of the other incoming investments and not from real profits.

Sometimes individuals who run a Ponzi scheme get away with it because they are respected hedge fund managers, financiers, and executives of large financial institutions. Others are stock brokers and insurance agents who defile the trust placed in them by the unsuspecting victims. Whether you were promised a large return from your investments by a financial advisor advertising good investment opportunity on securities, hedge funds, or mutual funds, it is still a financial fraud that only a qualified securities attorney is equipped to handle.

Contact Our Attorneys

To speak with an experienced securities attorney, who can help you recover your investment losses from a Ponzi scheme, contact us. We represent clients throughout the United States, and all parts of the State of Illinois, including DuPage, Kane, and Kendall County, as well as the cities of Chicago, Joliet, Morris, and others throughout Illinois. Schedule a free initial consultation today. To contact us, call 331.248.4330.

Stockbroker Misconduct

We combine 25 years of experience with representing investors who may have been the targets of stockbroker misconduct. Often times, an investor will entrust their financial securities to a brokerage firm or through a financial advisor or broker, who will then make financial investment decisions on behalf of the client.
Unfortunately, it could be months or even years before a client notices a loss in their investments due to many factors involving stockbroker misconduct, including:

  • Stockbroker Fraud – deceptive investment practices used for personal gain
  • Stockbroker Negligence – failure to carefully manage customer accounts per instructions
  • Ponzi Schemes – fraudulent investment operation based on other investors’ money
  • Over Concentrated Portfolios – failure to diversify a customer’s portfolio
  • Insurance Abuses – fraudulent insurance activities used to generate commission
  • Bond Fraud – failure to disclose the associated risks during the purchase of bonds

Each year there are claims made for stockbroker misconduct, and if you’ve been a victim or suspect your broker or financial institution is taking advantage of your investments, contact an experienced securities attorney who understands the laws surrounding investment fraud and can help to protect you against future investment losses.

Exceptional Investment Attorneys Helping Clients

Our team of investment securities attorneys draws from a variety of professional financial backgrounds to better serve clients who have been the victims of dishonest stockbroker and brokerage firms. John Burke, a former stockbroker himself, has continuously represented clients in matters involving stockbroker fraud, insurance fraud, and has experience in the securities arbitration process in both state and federal courts and with FINRA, formerly (the NASD), AAA, and JAMS Arbitration.

Our attorneys continue to serve clients to recover all types of recoverable losses on investments such as stocks, mutual funds, bonds, limited partnerships, and hedge funds. We diligently work to ensure your legal needs are satisfactorily resolved so that you can be on the road to financial recovery. If you are concerned about your securities or any other investments as a result of stockbroker misconduct, our attorneys at JSB Law LLC can fight for you.

Stockbroker Fraud

If your stockbroker or financial planner has made unauthorized transactions or has gained large commissions as a result of inappropriate investments due to greed, incompetence, or negligence, then you may be the victim of stockbroker fraud.

In Illinois, there are laws specifically designed to protect investors. Securities regulators are continuously issuing fines and suspensions for stockbroker fraud. Unfortunately, when investment losses occur, the investor must go through the process of filing a claim to recover those investment losses. Most brokerage firms require investors to sign a binding arbitration agreement. Claims filed against a brokerage firm are often handled through the process of securities arbitration, not in court.

At the law firm of JSB Law LLC., our attorneys come highly regarded in the securities arbitration process. We represent investors in conjunction with the Financial Investors Regulatory Authority (FINRA), who may have lost substantial amounts of money in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, limited partnerships, and other types of investments. We have a combined 25 years of legal experience in all areas pertaining to financial matters, including insurance fraud, and we work to ensure that our client’s best interests are upheld.

Reputable Securities Attorneys Representing You

If you suspect that your stockbroker or financial planner has mishandled your savings or retirement account, our firm can represent you. We have handled all types of cases involving negligence, misrepresentation and omissions, and other forms of stockbroker misconduct.

You have a right to protect your investments, and we can stand by your side while providing you with sound legal guidance. Our goal is to help you recover the maximum amount of your investment losses. Together, our exceptional team of attorneys has represented investors against stockbroker fraud, and recovered millions of dollars for our clients.

Over Concentrated Portfolios

One of the most important rules of investing involves diversification. When a stockbroker fails to diversify their client’s portfolio by deciding to place investment assets into one stock or into one sector of the market, this can multiply the extreme risk and magnify the loss to the client’s investments and in doing so, create an over concentrated portfolio.

Our securities fraud attorneys defend investors who may have lost their investments as a result of an over concentrated portfolio. Our attorneys have dealt with numerous investment brokers and financial planners who have made over concentrated investments for our clients. If you feel as though your stockbroker or financial planner has failed to diversify your investment portfolio, then contact our law firm for a no cost consultation.

Securities Fraud Attorneys Protecting Investors against Over Concentrated Portfolios

There are many different ways an investment portfolio can be considered over concentrated. One example of this is when an investor owns too much of one stock, such as employee stock options or company stock. Sometimes, a broker or financial advisor may place a client’s investments in too many of the same mutual funds within the same class, or mutual funds with similar goals.

Regardless of how your financial planner has caused your portfolio to be over concentrated, JSB Law LLC can help you gain compensation for your loss resulting from stockbroker misconduct. Our attorneys have more than 25 years of experience in various areas pertaining to financial fraud and stockbroker negligence, as well as insurance fraud. Our goal is to help you recover as much of your lost investments as possible.

Contact Our Attorneys Today

If you’re not sure as to whether or not your investment portfolio is being properly handled, contact our securities fraud attorneys by calling 331.248.4330.

Unauthorized Trading

When a stockbroker or financial advisor makes a trade or buys a new stock on behalf of their client without written consent from their client, then that stockbroker may be liable for unauthorized trading.

We have been helping their investor clients for more than 15 years in the protection of their assets and securities. We represent investors in recovering their losses resulting from all forms of stockbroker fraud including negligence, omissions, and other types of stockbroker misconduct.

We Can Help You to Recover Your Investments

It is not your fault if you’ve suffered a loss of investments because your stockbroker has failed to consult with you regarding the buying and selling of your stocks. Many times, these errors can show up in your monthly statement and when they do, you can call attention to it by writing to the brokerage firm. However, if a timely response is not given, then you need to contact a skilled securities attorney, who will negotiate and prosecute your claims with the brokerage firm on your behalf.

We’re Here To Help You

Our attorneys have the experience and knowledge to diligently work to protect your investments and life savings. We are accomplished litigators as well as former stock brokers, arbitrators and extremely experienced with representing clients in the securities arbitration process alongside professional organizations such as FINRA (the Financial Investors Regulatory Authority) formerly known as the NASD (National Association of Securities Dealers).

Many of our cases have successfully resolved disputes involving all types of recoverable losses. We have represented investors in both state and federal court, and we can stand by your side to ensure that you have a positive outcome.

Contact Us Today

If your stockbroker or financial advisor has bought or sold stock without your authorization, contact us by calling 331.248.4330.

Other commonly asked questions answered by John Burke

Why do you enjoy representing investors in disputes?

What are private placements and why should investors be wary of investing in them?

Should you be buying investments from an insurance agent?

What are hedge funds and what are the risks of investing in them?

Where are investment disputes resolved?

What are promissory notes and why should investors steer clear of them?

What is a diversified portfolio?

What should an investor do if they have a problem with a financial advisor or an investment?

What else should investors know?

Why are retirees commonly the targets of investment abuse?

What was the most egregious example of investment abuse that you have seen?

What is “suitability” and what does it mean in terms of the relationship between financial advisors?

What are some common ways brokers misrepresent risks?

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