Unethical and deceitful investment schemes are on the rise, having a weighty impact on the financial well-being of those affected. Thus, safeguarding finances from fraud is an essential practice for individuals and organizations to avoid losses. In case such fraud is committed, the role of a stockbroker fraud attorney becomes critical in protecting the victim’s interests and recovering the lost amount to make sure justice is served.
Understanding Financial Fraud
Financial fraud is of various types like Ponzi schemes, unauthorized trading, misrepresentation, churning, etc. The reason why financial fraud is taken so seriously is because it hampers the trust people have in financial markets through severe financial damage that cripples people’s lives. Since these schemes and their documentation are so complex, professionals with experience can identify, address, and recover the lost funds.
Understanding Ponzi Schemes
Let’s take a look at Ponzi schemes in detail. It is a type of financial fraud in which the returns are paid to earlier investors using investments from new investors instead of by generating profits from a legitimate business. The scam is that the investors are not aware of this process being followed to pay back their returns and are assured of high returns with little to no risk to gain their trust. This model is unsustainable as in the absence of new investors, the chain breaks and the scheme collapses immediately – leading to great financial loss for everyone involved. The scale and complexity of Ponzi schemes require the specialty of a Ponzi scheme attorney to solve the grievances.
The Role of a Stock Broker Fraud Attorney
Since these attorneys specialize in fraud cases, their role includes having extensive knowledge of securities law and understanding the intricacies of financial markets. This helps them recover victim’s losses and hold the stockbrokers, financial advisors, and other fraudulent parties responsible for their acts.
Key Responsibilities
- Case Evaluation and Action Plan: Firstly, the attorney will thoroughly evaluate your case by analyzing documents such as account statements, emails, trade confirmations, etc. to find out the traces of fraud. Based on this information, the attorney will create an action plan best suited to your case ensuring high chances of success.
- Complaints and Lawsuits: When sufficient proof of fraud has been collected, the lawyer files a complaint with relevant regulatory bodies like the SEC and FINRA. To explore all legal avenues, a dual approach may be undertaken by filing a lawsuit in civil court to seek further compensation.
- Out-of-Court Settlement: Out-of-court settlements require high levels of negotiation skills that only an experienced lawyer can bring to the table. They work out the terms of settlement with the fraudulent parties to recover as much money as possible without taking the case to litigation which saves the client considerable time and money.
- Representation in Arbitration or Court: In case an out-of-court settlement is not reached and the case moves to court, your attorney will represent you and your case. The attorney will present evidence, question witnesses, make arguments, and represent you in front of the judge and jury. Since they would have years of experience in securities law and litigation, they would know exactly how to increase the chances of getting a favorable outcome.
Choosing the Right Attorney
There are numerous stockbroker fraud attorneys in the legal space. So which one should you hire for your case? Depending on the specifics of your case here are some factors you must consider before hiring an attorney.
- Professional Expertise: Check the experience and success rate of the shortlisted lawyers in financial fraud cases, specifically the one similar to yours. The more experience, the higher the understanding of securities law and tactics used by fraudsters. This leads to higher chances of a favorable outcome – through settlement or litigation.
- Lawyer’s Reputation: You must find out the shortlisted lawyer’s reputation in the legal landscape to get an idea about the level of professionalism and dedication. It will also give you an idea about the satisfaction level of the previous clients.
- Additional Resources: A successful attorney will have access to additional resources such as forensic accountants, investigators, etc. to build a robust case against the fraudsters. Since financial fraud cases are resource-intensive, hiring someone with adequate network, contacts, and resources is the best bet.
- Communication: The key to any successful relationship – be it professional or personal – is clear communication. Transparency must be maintained and all updates on the case must be conveyed with utmost urgency to keep the client in the loop of all developments taking place in the case progress.
Financial fraud – as the name suggests – involves financial repercussions for the victims. But the consequences aren’t only monetary. Mental distress from losing an investment that is made based on trust in the broker should also be accounted for when we talk about these