Ft. Lauderdale, Fl., — The law firm of Securities Fraud Attorney Mark A. Tepper has filed claim against AmTrust Investment Services for an alleged “bait and switch” tactic in which a customer of its sister company AmTrust Bank was allegedly deceived into moving the proceeds from his recently matured AmTrust Bank CD into a high commission mutual fund with unsuitable risk.
In the claim filed today with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Tepper, a former New York Assistant Attorney General and Chief Trial Counsel at the Bureau of Investor Protection and Securities, alleges that an AmTrust Bank teller directed his client, a retired auto mechanic to speak with their financial advisor, instead of simply opening another CD as requested by his client.
The claim alleges that unknown to the Claimant, the Financial Advisor did not work for AmTrust Bank, but for sister company, AmTrust Investment, a firm specializing in selling mutual funds, annuities and life insurance. “Claimant trusted the Financial Advisor because he thought she was part of AmTrust Bank and she was selling him an interest generating product,” the claim alleges.
The claim contends that AmTrust Investment is responsible for the Financial Advisor’s misconduct and its own failure to supervise: “Had AmTrust Investment adequately supervised, it would have detected that the Financial Advisor completed a financial profile which was inconsistent with the Claimant’s Brokerage Account Application,” the claim further alleges.
About Mark A. Tepper, P.A. (www.MarkTepper.com)
Attorney Mark Tepper has earned the reputation of “Investor Advocate” while practicing law for over 30 years and representing investors in criminal and civil actions. An elected Board Director of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) he has authored numerous legal articles on securities arbitration and lectured before the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) which has 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 he is AV(R)-rated, the highest rating of lawyers in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.
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