J.P. Morgan Accuses Advisor Of Improperly Transferring Clients to Morgan Stanley in His Transition

Posted on January 25th, 2023 at 2:10 PM
J.P. Morgan Accuses Advisor Of Improperly Transferring Clients to Morgan Stanley in His Transition

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law.

J.P. Morgan has asked a court for a temporary injunction to stop a former advisor from transferring clients during his transition to his new firm, Morgan Stanley.

J.P. Morgan alleges that a former advisor, Joseph Michael, improperly persuaded at least 32 J.P. Morgan clients to transfer their accounts to him at Morgan Stanley. According to J.P. Morgan’s complaint, the accounts held assets totaling nearly $28 million. “The clients have informed JPMorgan that Michael’s communications have been more than simply announcing his change of employment, and that he is actively requesting meetings with the clients or otherwise seeking to induce them to do business with him at Morgan Stanley”, according to J.P. Morgan.

In addition to purportedly breaching his non-solicitation agreement, J.P. Morgan alleges that Michael breached confidentiality provisions that were included in his employment agreement with the firm. J.P. Morgan’s investigation allegedly determined that Michael had suspiciously accessed client profiles about 328 times in his last full month of employment. The client profiles contain a swath of confidential information, including names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers.

The case is yet another example of how important it is to understand the law and any enforceable contractual restrictions in planning a successful transition.

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, advisors, law

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

You were most helpful with my FINRA deposition. You are a good lawyer and a good person.

Dan B.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

October 2, 2024
SEC Charges Two South Florida Men for Defrauding Venezuelan-American Investors in $5 Million Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a complaint against two South Florida men, Francisco Javier Malave Hernandez and Ricardo Javier Guerra Farias, for orchestrating a multi-million dollar investment fraud that targeted members of the Venezuelan-American community.

October 1, 2024
California Advisor Suspended and Fined for Churning Client Accounts

A veteran advisor in Santa Maria, California, Stewart "Paxton" Ginn, has been suspended for 18 months and fined $50,000 by FINRA, according to AdvisorHub

September 30, 2024
Bank of America and Merrill Lynch Settle with FINRA for Supervisory Failures

Bank of America and its subsidiary, Merrill Lynch, have agreed to a $3 million fine and censure as part of a settlement with FINRA over long-term supervisory failures.