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Financial Advisor Herbert Hafen (Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC) Customer Complaints

Herbert Hafen (CRD # 867068) is a former Financial Advisor at Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley in New York, NY.  Herbert Hafen has been in the securities industry since 1979 and previously worked at Bear, Stearns.    

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), in August 2018, Wells Fargo terminated Herbert Hafen after he “admitted to entering into financial arrangements with clients that were not approved by the firm.”  Subsequent to his termination, FINRA sanctioned him, barring him from associating with a broker dealer.  Herbert Hafen failed to comply with a FINRA subpoena, requesting information regarding his participation in the outside investment activity that was not approved by his employing brokerage firm. 

In September 2019, the SEC filed a complaint against Herbert Hafen, alleging:

“from at least July 2011 through April 2018, Defendant, who was employed as an investment adviser representative and broker-dealer registered representative at two large well-known Financial Institutions (“Financial Institution A” and “Financial Institution B,” collectively, “The Financial Institutions”), engaged in a scheme to defraud his clients. This scheme involved Hafen convincing his retail clients that he had access to a purported investment opportunity outside the financial institution where he worked. He advised clients that the supposed investment would pay an annual six percent return and had little risk. Hafen convinced his clients to take their money out of the Financial Institutions – including liquidating stock holdings and personal retirement accounts – deposit that money into their personal bank accounts, and then transfer or wire the money to Hafen’s personal bank account. Once Hafen had the money from his clients, he pocketed it, using it, not for any investments, but for his own personal purposes.”

The SEC regulatory action remains pending. 

For a copy of Herbert Hafen’s CRD, click https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/867068#disclosuresSection.

Financial advisors have a legal and regulatory obligation to recommend only suitable investments that are appropriate for their clients’ needs and objectives. Their employing brokerage firm has a legal and regulatory obligation to supervise the Financial Advisors’ sales practices and dealings with clients.  To the extent any of these duties are breached, the customer may be entitled to a recovery of his or her investment losses.  

The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. represents investors nationwide in securities litigation and arbitration on a contingency fee basis.  Matt Wolper, the Managing Principal of the Wolper Law Firm, P.A., is a trial lawyer who has handled hundreds of securities cases during his career involving a wide range of products, strategies and securities.  Prior to representing investors, he was a partner with a national law firm, where he represented some of the largest banks and brokerage firms in the world in securities matters.  We can be reached at 800.931.8452 or by email at mwolper@wolperlawfirm.com.

Attorney Matthew Wolper

Attorney Matthew WolperMatt Wolper is a trial lawyer who focuses exclusively on securities litigation and arbitration. Mr. Wolper has handled hundreds of securities matters nationwide before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), JAMS, and in state and federal court. Mr. Wolper has handled and tried cases involving complex financial products and strategies ranging from traditional stocks and bonds to options, margin and other securities-based lending products, closed/open-end mutual funds, structured products, hedge funds, and penny stocks. [Attorney Bio]