FINRA Alleges Former Broker Made Unsuitable Energy Investments for Elderly Clients

Posted on September 13th, 2016 at 3:01 PM
FINRA Alleges Former Broker Made Unsuitable Energy Investments for Elderly Clients

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:

FINRA has filed a complaint against ex-broker Christopher Ariola for recommending that three elderly retirees invest a substantial portion of their retirement savings in unsuitable gold and energy stocks. Mr. Ariola also helped a fourth customer make similar investments in a retirement account he controlled at TD Ameritrade.  

Mr. Ariola made recommendations to “invest heavily in gold and energy stocks, including high-yield dividend producing stocks that exposed his customers to significant investment risk,” FINRA charged in its complaint.

The four elderly investors were retired and previously had worked for the same bus company in California. All the victims relied on Mr. Ariola’s advice and expertise for the investments in their 401(k)s.  The four investors who had limited financial resources in the first place, lost a total of about $140,000.

Mr. Ariola worked for Bay Mutual Financial from September 2004 to September 2012. He has not been a registered broker since September 2014.

The attorneys of Eccleston Law LLC represent investors and advisers nationwide in securities and employment matters. Our attorneys draw on a combined experience of nearly 65 years in delivering the highest quality legal services. If you are in need of legal services, contact us to schedule a one-on-one consultation today.

Related Attorneys: James J. Eccleston

Tags: Eccleston, Eccleston Law, Eccleston Law LLC, James Eccleston

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We just wanted to say thanks for your work in helping us get back some of the money we lost. We are not by any means rich, but we have saved some money and we have done so through a tight-fisted approach to most everything we do. So losing a significant chunk of money hurt…especially at a time when everyone else was growing their accounts. We really appreciate the work you did.

Allan and Adele

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