FISHERS, Ind., March 27, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The securities arbitration law firm of Maddox Hargett & Caruso, P.C. announced today that an Indianapolis, Indiana, arbitration panel of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has ruled in favor of its investor-client in her arbitration case against Wells Fargo Advisors LLC and E*Trade Securities LLC.
Specifically, the FINRA arbitration panel found Wells Fargo Advisors liable to the investor for $50,253 in compensatory damages and E*Trade Securities liable for an additional $33,502 in compensatory damages.
In addition, the FINRA panel held Wells Fargo Advisors and E*Trade Securities responsible for paying the investor $11,960 in interest, as well as $22,500 in attorney fees and $4,500 in arbitration hearing session and fees.
"This case involved the investor's ex-husband who, through the falsification of documents and other classic signs of identity theft, transferred funds from various Wells Fargo accounts into several E*Trade accounts without our client's knowledge or consent," says Mark E. Maddox of Maddox Hargett & Caruso, P.C. "Our client was the victim of a very focused and intentional scheme that was permitted to occur – if not facilitated – by both Wells Fargo and E*Trade."
"Incidences involving ex-spouses stealing from each other are becoming more common, and our firm has been quite successful in the prosecution of these claims," Maddox continues. "In this case, Wells Fargo Advisors and E*Trade Securities had every opportunity to take responsibility for their misconduct but did not. We are pleased that the FINRA arbitration panel not only ruled in our client's favor, but that it also sent a strong message through its award of interest, attorney fees and FINRA forum fees against Wells Fargo Advisors and E*Trade Securities. The award represents a significant victory for our client and demonstrates that if a spouse "steals" money from his or her spouse's brokerage account, the brokerage firm can, in fact, be held liable for those losses."
Additional information is available by contacting Maddox Hargett & Caruso at: