NFL Football Players Fall Victim to Broward County Financial Adviser

Soreide Law Group, PLLC, a Securities Arbitration Law Firm, (888) 760-6552, located in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, which is in Broward County, recently ran across an article from the Sun-Sentinel newspaper written by Donna Gehrke-White, regarding former professional football player Johnny Rutledge. The article states that Rutledge remembers seeing the first hint of trouble several years ago when he noticed his life insurance policies were signed by someone else. Rutledge knew he could no longer trust Jeffrey Rubin, his Broward County financial adviser who had been working for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance. Rutledge, states the Sun-Sentinel article, was a Belle Glade native who played five years in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos from 1999 to 2003., ultimately received $40,000 from Northwestern Mutual in a quiet settlement after he complained about Rubin and Northwestern Mutual to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). No criminal charges were filed, but Rutledge didn't stay quiet about Rubin, a friend from his days at the University of Florida. He warned other friends and former NFL players about Rubin, but, "They wouldn't listen,'' he said.

Now, eight years later, FINRA has barred Rubin from the securities industry after 31 NFL players lost approximately $40 million through his failed investments. Rubin had many of them invest in an Alabama casino that went bankrupt — and that Rubin had a stake in — according the FINRA complaint. FINRA investigators said Rubin didn't tell his former bosses at Alterna Capital Corp. and International Assets Advisory LLC, about the casino investments. Rubin left Northwestern Mutual years earlier.

Rutledge knows many of the current and former players who have lost a lot of money — including Fred Taylor, another Glades Central High grad who went on to UF and had a long career in the NFL. Other NFL players who invested with Rubin include Plaxico Burress, Terrell Owens, Roscoe Parrish, Santana Moss, Santonio Holmes, Clinton Portis, Mike Peterson and Duane Starks, writes Gehrke-White.

Rubin voluntarily agreed to FINRA's decision to bar him from trading in securities again and faces civil court cases, reports the Sun-Sentinel.

It's not uncommon for NFL players to hand over all their non-football activities to agents or advisers. They will pay their bills, make flight arrangements, and hire domestic workers to clean homes and pools. A Sports Illustrated story found that most NFL players either face financial hardships or go bankrupt within two years after retirement. The article blamed bad investments and people taking advantage of players who aren't paying attention to their finances.

But Rutledge said many athletes also go overboard in spending.

"You don't see at 22 that you'll only be in the NFL on average three years," he said.

Call Soreide Law Group, a Securities Arbitration Law Firm, for a free consultation with an attorney on how to potentially recover your investment losses at 888-760-6552.