In July, 2017, a FINRA arbitrator panel sitting in New York, NY issued a $2.6 million binding arbitration award against Northeast Securities a FINRA registered broker dealer. The award was joint and several against Northeast Securities and registered reps Stephen Perrone, Diane Hawkins and Jonathan Zucker. The award includes nearly $900,000 in pre award interest and reimbursement for close to $34,000 in expert witness costs. Perrone, Hawkins and Zucker’s requests to expunge the claim from the CRD system was denied by the panel.
The underlying matter involved corporate bonds, and Claimant asserted claims for breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, churning, misrepresentations and violations of FINRA rules. During the pendency of the case, the Claimant filed a request with the panel to make a disciplinary referral to FINRA for Respondents alleged refusal to turn over presumptively discoverable telephone records that could have aided Claimant’s case. The panel denied the request to make the disciplinary referral.
Improbably, despite making such a large award on behalf of the Claimant, the panel split the arbitration hearing session fees 50-50, requiring Claimant to pay $13,500 to FINRA.
After a nine day arbitration hearing over April to June, the arbitrators rendered their decision and awarded the Claimant $2.6 million.
As a result of this award The Law Office of David Liebrader has opened an investigation into Northeast Securities and their corporate bond sales to public customers. Northeast Securities is a New York corporation, organized in 1989 and registered to do business in 53 states and territories. The firm reports that it has been the subject of 15 regulatory investigations and 12 arbitration claims.
FINRA Code of Arbitration Procedure section 12904 governs the issuance and payments of awards. Key provisions of the rule are that the award may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction, after a motion to confirm the award is filed pursuant to state or federal law. Furthermore, unless the applicable law directs otherwise, all awards rendered under the Code of Arbitration Procedure are final, and are not subject to review or appeal. Grounds for overturning binding FINRA arbitration awards are extremely limited. Northeast Securities has thirty days to pay the award, or to seek to have the award vacated.
If you are the victim of investment fraud, or if you have lost money investing in corporate bonds at Northeast Securities please call The Law Office of David Liebrader at (702) 380-3131 for a free, confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights and options. Our firm takes cases on a straight contingency fee, with no money up front, and no money owed unless there is a recovery.
There is no charge for the initial consultation, so call (702) 380-3131 today to speak with an experienced securities attorney who will fight to recover your losses.
The Law Office of David Liebrader practices exclusively in the field of investment loss recovery. For the past 23 years, we have dedicated our law practice to assisting investors who have been victims of investment fraud via fraudulent and unsuitable investment transactions. During that time we have recovered money for over one thousand individuals, pension plans, trusts and companies. The recoveries we have obtained via judgments, awards and settlements on behalf of our clients exceed $40,000,000.