Wells Fargo Advisors Ordered to Pay $500,000 for Misuse of Former Advisor's Name

Posted on December 4th, 2024 at 3:55 PM
Wells Fargo Advisors Ordered to Pay $500,000 for Misuse of Former Advisor's Name

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law

Wells Fargo Advisors must pay nearly $500,000 in damages to Nicholas Takahashi, for allegedly using his name on their website long after he left for a competitor. According to AdvisorHub, Takahashi claimed Wells Fargo violated a California law prohibiting the use of someone's name or likeness for advertising without consent.

According to the June 11 arbitration award, Takahashi left Wells Fargo in 2013 for Morgan Stanley. Despite this, Wells Fargo included his name on the website of a former partner who remained with the firm. This act potentially allowed the advisor to solicit Takahashi’s clients, according to a source close to Takahashi who spoke to AdvisorHub on the condition of anonymity.

Takahashi initially had sought over $1.8 million in damages. The total FINRA award includes $250,000 in punitive damages, almost $82,000 in compensatory damages, and roughly $163,000 in legal fees and other costs.

 

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

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

If the regulators are after you, and are trying to make a case against you, and you are going to contest their allegations against you, make sure you have the best securities industry defense lawyers, Eccleston Law Firm. My case was spun into a combination of penalties including fines, cash settlements, CE courses and suspension. They were the best I have seen in action. When all was said and done, they had done their magic, my situation was negotiated and settled with a simple "letter of caution" and a case closed without action. It is the most important legal business decision you will ever make, make it Eccleston Law.

Rick R.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

November 26, 2025
Former GWG Chair Charged in Alleged $150 Million Fraud Scheme as Investor Losses Mount

Federal prosecutors have intensified scrutiny of the long-running collapse of GWG Holdings Inc., unveiling criminal charges against Bradley Heppner, the former chair of both GWG and Beneficient.

November 25, 2025
Financial Advisor Accepts FINRA Bar Amidst Investigation into Alleged Misappropriation

A financial advisor affiliated with a credit union connected to Raymond James Financial agreed to an industry bar after declining to cooperate with FINRA’s investigation into allegations that he misappropriated client funds.

November 24, 2025
Kyle Busch Alleges Considerable Losses in Indexed Universal Life (IUL) Scheme

Kyle Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, and his wife Samantha announced that they lost more than $8.6 million in what they describe as a “devastating financial scheme” involving an Indexed Universal Life (IUL) insurance policy.