Soreide Law Group Files FINRA Arbitration Against Merrill Lynch and Florida Broker John Moy

Soreide Law Group has filed a FINRA arbitration on behalf of their clients against, MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED (MERRILL LYNCH) and JOHN KIRKLAND MOY (JOHN MOY or MOY), CRD# 848350.
The Claimants, a retired couple from Florida in their late 70s and early 80s, have been married for over 50 years.  The couple met Florida MERRILL LYNCH broker MOY in 2011. In 2015, they were looking to replace income they were receiving from a property that they sold when the mortgage they were holding was paid off.   According to the lawsuit, MERRILL LYNCH broker, JOHN MOY placed the $313,000 heavily into high risk investments that were inappropriate for senior citizens, including but not limited to Memorial Production Partners (“MEMP”) (-$85,000 or -99%) and OCH-ZIFF Cap Management Group (“OZM”) (-$64,000 or -80%). The Claimants explained to MOY that they were looking to generate an income to sustain them through retirement without risking their principal.  The lawsuit alleges that Moy allocated a high percentage of the Claimants net worth into high risk stocks, MEMP and OZM. On all the positions MOY did not use stop losses or do anything to protect the downside even in the face of overwhelmingly negative news.
The Claimants total net worth was less than $500k and maintaining large over concentrated positions in any single stock is wholly unsuitable for Claimants. Over concentrated positions in oil investments are especially unsuitable for senior citizens. Oil historically is extremely volatile and crashes every decade going back to the 1970s. The Claimants having now suffered devastating losses to their irreplaceable retirement savings have no other means of replacing the principal loss and the lost stream of future income to support themselves through retirement. This loss resulted in the Claimants having to further stretch their limited retirement income even further, and the Claimants are struggling to make ends meet.  The lawsuit alleges that no one from MERRILL LYNCH ever made any attempt to build a diversified portfolio to protect their retirement savings.
MERRILL LYNCH and their representative’s actions have caused Claimants damages of approximately $145,000.00.
The lawsuit alleges:  negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, negligent supervision, and breach of contract.
If you were a client of Florida MERRILL LYNCH broker, JOHN MOY and experienced losses due to his actions, recommendations or lack of supervision, call the Florida-based Soreide Law Group for a no-cost consultation with an experienced securities lawyer regarding the possible recovery of your investment losses:  888-760-6552.
Soreide Law Group represents clients nationwide before FINRA on a contingency fee basis.  Let our experience work for you.