Matthew Steinberg & Oppenheimer

Soreide Law Group has filed a FINRA arbitration on behalf of our client (Claimant) against:

OPPENHEIMER & CO., INC. (Respondent)

The Claimant is retired and living in South Florida. The lawsuit alleges that the Claimant advised the Respondent and its Financial Advisor, E. Matthew Steinberg (Matthew Steinberg), that he wanted to safely generate retirement income. The Claimant was allegedly advised that OPPENHEIMER & CO and Matthew Steinberg could manage the portfolio on a discretionary basis and provide the Claimant with the safe income sought.  E. Matthew Steinberg is not named in this lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the Claimant was allegedly told that municipal bond default rates were less than 1%. Allegedly, Oppenheimer and Matthew Steinberg selected a long-term bond portfolio that subsequently suffered multiple defaults causing the Claimant losses.

The lawsuit alleges that Oppenheimer and Matthew Steinberg then recommended that the Claimant participate in a hedged proprietary options program, also known as the Portfolio Enhancement Program (PEP). According to the lawsuit, the Respondent borrowed $1.25 million dollars on margin against the municipal bonds the Claimant owned.  Allegedly, the PEP program was supposed to safely generate another 5% yield for the Claimant using hedged puts and calls.  Allegedly, the Respondent failed to advise the Claimant that this program would only work in low volatility markets with low interest rates. The Claimant suffered losses in PEP and exited the program that was allegedly not adequately explained.

The lawsuit is alleging, breach of fiduciary duty, failure to supervise, breach of contract, fraud, and violation of FINRA rules. The Claimant requests damages in the amount of $2,500,000.00.

According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, available to the public on FINRA’s website, Matthew Steinberg, has been in the securities industry for 30 years and listed with 2 firms.  He has been with Oppenheimer & Co of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania since 1994, and is listed both as a broker and investment advisor.  He has one disclosure, a “Customer Dispute,” listed on his FINRA CRD report. Steinberg denies the allegations.

If you’ve suffered financial losses due to the actions or recommendations of OPPENHEIMER & CO., INC. and/or their registered representative, Matthew Steinberg, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer at no cost regarding the possible recovery of your investment losses through a FINRA arbitration at:  888-760-6552.

Soreide Law Group represents clients nationwide before FINRA on a contingency fee basis, no fee to you if no recovery.