Fort Lauderdale, Fl. –Securities Fraud Attorney Mark Tepper said today that a six-year survey of arbitration awards is further evidence that the Florida Investor Protection Act is not being enforced, repeatedly preventing investors from obtaining fair compensation following abusive broker sale practices. A violation of the Act was alleged in more than 95 percent of the 399 awards surveyed.
Tepper, a former New York Assistant Attorney General and Chief Trial Counsel at the Bureau of Investor Protection and Securities, has published his findings in the Winter issue of the Bar Journal of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA).
“Florida has enacted the Florida Investor Protection Act, Chapter 517, reflecting a public policy to protect Floridians from investment fraud,” Tepper wrote in the Journal. “To achieve its purpose of protecting investors and deterring fraud by defeating all visionary schemes, 517 must be liberally interpreted and vigilantly enforced.”
Tepper, who represents the interests of investors in criminal and civil actions in over 30 years of practicing law, compared the performance of public and industry arbitrators. “The staggering percentage of times that arbitrators are not enforcing the 517 statute is appalling, leading to the inescapable conclusion that SRO arbitration is unfair to investors and biased in favor of the industry.”
About Mark Tepper PA (www.MarkTepper.com)
Practicing law for over 30 years while representing the interests of investors in criminal and civil actions, attorney Mark Tepper has earned a reputation as “Investor Advocate.” His clients include investors facing the sometimes volatile risks presented by financial products known as Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (CMOs) – a type of mortgage-backed security that in spite of AAA ratings or government guarantees, are not protected against interest rate risk. He has authored numerous legal articles on securities arbitration and lectured before the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) which presented him with an ‘Outstanding Service Award.’ He addresses professional associations, clubs and financial organizations in South Florida in an effort to educate the public on securities fraud. A member of the Florida, New York and California Bars, Tepper is AV®-rated, the highest rating of lawyers in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.
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