According to BrokerCheck records financial advisor William Paynter (Paynter), employed by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC (Wells Fargo), has been subject to two customer complaints. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Paynter has been accused by a customers of unsuitable investment advice concerning various investment products including energy stocks that likely include master limited partnerships (MLPs). The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP continue to report on investor related losses and potential legal remedies due to recommendations to investor in oil and gas and commodities related investments.
The most recent claim was filed in June 2017 and alleges that Paynter made unsuitable investments from 2013 through 2014. The customer alleges $500,000 in damages and the claim is currently pending.
In May 2017 another customer alleged that Paynter from 2010 through 2017 made unsuitable investments and over concentration in oil and energy investments. The claim alleges the broker committed negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, negligent supervision, and breach of contract causing $500,000 in damages. The claim is currently pending.
Our firm handles claims and is also investigating securities claims against brokerage firms over sales practices related to the recommendations of oil & gas and commodities products such as exchange traded notes (ETNs), structured notes, private placements, master limited partnerships (MLPs), leveraged ETFs, mutual funds, and individual stocks.
Before recommending investments in oil and gas and commodities related investments, brokers and advisors must ensure that the investment is appropriate for the investor and conduct due diligence on the company in order to understand the risks and prospects of the company. Oil and gas and commodities related investments have been recommended by brokers under the assumption that commodities prices would continue to go up. However, brokers who sell oil and gas and commodities products are obligated to understand the risks of these investments and convey them to clients.
The number of complaints against Paynter are unusual compared to his peers. According to newsources, only about 7.3% of financial advisors have any type of disclosure event on their records among brokers employed from 2005 to 2015. Brokers must publicly disclose reportable events on their CRD customer complaints, IRS tax liens, judgments, investigations, and even criminal matters. However, studies have found that there are fraud hotspots such as certain parts of California, New York or Florida, where the rates of disclosure can reach 18% or higher. Moreover, according to the New York Times, BrokerCheck may be becoming increasing inaccurate and understate broker misconduct as studies have shown that 96.9% of broker requests to clean their records of complaints are granted.
Paynter entered the securities industry in 1997. From February 2011 through November 2014 Paynter was associated with Morgan Stanley. From October 2014 until May 2017 Paynter was associated with UBS Financial Services Inc. Currently, since April 2017 Paynter has been associated with Wells Fargo out of the firm’s Scottsdale, Arizona office location.
At Gana Weinstein LLP, our attorneys are experienced representing investors who have suffered securities losses due to inappropriate investments in oil and gas related securities. Claims may be brought in securities arbitration before FINRA. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.