Former NBA No. 1 Draft Pick Files Lawsuit Against Merrill Lynch and Advisor
From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:
Former National Basketball Association player and 2001 first round draft pick, Kwame Brown has filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court in Los Angeles against Merrill Lynch, Bank of America and his former adviser, Michelle Marquez, alleging fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract.
According to the recent court filings, starting in 2005 and lasting for another 13 years, Mr. Brown became a client of Merrill Lynch and Ms. Marquez, who handled all of his $64 million NBA income and other investments. Moreover, during that time, both parties stipulated that Ms. Vazquez could not execute trades without the consent of Mr. Brown.
However, according to his civil complaint, Mr. Brown alleges that Ms. Marquez forged his signature on authorization forms and agreements, opened up bank accounts under his name, and began investing and trading his assets without his permission. As a result of her unauthorized trades, Ms. Marquez was able to collect substantial commissions from Mr. Brown’s investment accounts.
Mr. Brown allegedly approximately lost $17.4 million in his Merrill Lynch account due to these unauthorized trades and commission payments.
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Brown is seeking compensatory and punitive damages with prejudgment interest jointly and severally from Merrill Lynch, Bank of America and Ms. Marquez.
The attorneys of Eccleston Law LLC represent investors and advisors nationwide in securities and employment matters. The securities lawyers at Eccleston Law also practice a variety of other areas of practice for financial investors and advisors including Securities Fraud, Compliance Protection, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, FINRA Matters, and much more. 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.
Tags: james eccleston, eccleston law, eccleston law llc, eccleston, merrill lynch, kwame brown, fraud, fiduciary duty