• September 30, 2018
• Forgery
• Fraud
• Wells Fargo Advisors

The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. is currently investigating claims against John Schmidt, a former Financial Advisor at Wells Fargo in Dayton, Ohio.  John Schmidt has been in the securities industry since 1980s and previously worked at Stifel Nicolaus.

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), o in October 2017, John Schmidt, Wells Fargo terminated John Schmidt over allegations that he was moving money between customer accounts without authorization and allegedly providing clients with false account statements.  This conduct prompted a FINRA investigation and, ultimately, a sanction, barring him from the securities industry.

In addition, John Schmidt has five customer complaints reflected on his disclosure report, alleging sales practice violations.  Among the complaints against John Schmidt include:

• January 2018—”Representative for client alleges that funds were misappropriated from his client’s accounts.”
• December 2017—”Attorney for client alleged FA had absconded with monies belonging to client.” The matter was settled for $1.5 million.
• December 2017—”Attorney for client alleged FA had absconded with monies belonging to client.” The matter remains pending.
• October 2017—”Customer verbally alleged that registered representative provided written and verbal misrepresentations regarding the value of the customer’s investments.” The matter was settled for $199,000.

For a full copy of Jon Schmidt’s FINRA disclosure report, click https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/708094#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.

If you or someone you know was a customer of John Schmidt and you experienced investment losses, please contact the Wolper Law Firm, P.A. at 800.931.8452 or by email at mwolper@wolperlawfirm.com to discuss your specific situation and the legal options available.  The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. represents investors nationwide in securities litigation and arbitration.

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.