Soreide Law Files Case against EDWARD JONES

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

EDWARD JONES.

The Claimant is in her mid-sixties and resides in Texas. The Claimant maintained brokerage accounts with EDWARD JONES and their former registered representative, Reuben Lamont Brown (Reuben L Brown). Brown was an employee and registered representative of EDWARD JONES from August 2019 through August 2022. Reuben L Brown was terminated by EDWARD JONES in August of 2022 for selling outside investments and was ultimately barred from the securities industry in March of 2024. Brown is not named in this lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the Claimant told EDWARD JONES broker, Reuben L Brown, that she was saving for retirement and wanted to set some money aside to fund a food pantry for her church. On or about December of 2021, Brown allegedly approached the Claimant with an opportunity to invest in a “risk free” and “tax free” promissory note of which she agreed to purchase $260,000.00 worth. The investment later proved to be a complete loss for the Claimant, plus the Claimant incurred a $44,164 tax bill from the IRS. This tax was due to Reuben L Brown allegedly recommending that she take the money from her IRA account early to fund this investment.

The lawsuit alleges that EDWARD JONES and their former agent, Reuben L Brown, have caused the Claimant damages of at least $300,000.00. The lawsuit is alleging negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligent supervision.

According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, available to the public on FINRA’s website, Reuben L Brown was barred by FINRA from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with a broker/dealer firm in March of 2024. According to the FINRA report, without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, Brown consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he allegedly refused to appear for on-the-record testimony requested by FINRA during the course of a matter originated from his member firm's filing of his Form U5. FINRA’s findings stated that the firm filed a Form U5 noting that Reuben L Brown had been terminated amid concerns that he had introduced clients to an investment outside the firm in violation of firm's policies regarding private securities transactions and selling away.

BrokerCheck states that Reuben L Brown had 3 years of experience in the securities industry and was listed with only one firm, EDWARD JONES of Southlake, Texas. Brown has 4 disclosures on his FINRA CRD report, one “Regulatory,” which barred him from the industry, one “Employment Separation after Allegations,” which terminated him from EDWARD JONES, and two “Customer Disputes” both which have settled.

A dispute dated 7/24/2023, requested $180,000.00 in damages and settled for $210,000.00.  The allegations were, “The client alleges the financial advisor suggested an investment opportunity outside the firm with zero risk and zero tax. Additionally, the client alleges this was to be a short-term investment of only a few months; however, it has been nearly a year with no funds returned. Further, the client alleges he incurred an additional tax liability of $30,000.00 when he explicitly stated he wanted to avoid taxes."

The other “Customer Dispute” is dated 6/12/2024 and settled for $92,500.00. The allegations were, “Claimants allege that in 2021, registered representative presented an investment opportunity called Clover Capital that was, according to registered representative, short term and risk free. Claimants assert Clover Capital was a sham, created by registered representative to swindle money from his clients.”

To discuss this article or any other securities issues, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer at no cost:  888-760-6552.

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