Goodman & Nekvasil P.A., May Recover Investment Losses – Michelle Lee Kern (Michelle Kern) a/k/a Michelle Lee Wartena Fired by Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. and Barred from the Securities Industry
From 2002 until Michelle Kern’s firing in 2013, Michelle Kern was licensed with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. According to FINRA’s records, Michelle Kern was fired by Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. on December 26, 2012. Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. reported to FINRA that Michelle Kern was suspended on December 5, 2012 and terminated on December 26, 2012 after the firm concluded client funds were misappropriated via ACH transfer to pay personal credit cards held in the name of the advisor.
Subsequent to Michelle Kern’s firing by Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., FINRA investigated Michelle Kern and brought a disciplinary action against Michelle Kern. Michelle Kern was barred from the securities and investment banking industry on January 7, 2014. FINRA reports that Michelle Kern consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that Michelle Kern unlawfully converted to Michell Kern’s own use approximately $569,000 from customers’ brokerage accounts through unauthorized electronic withdraws and used the funds to pay Michelle Kern’s personal credit card bills. Michelle Kern also unlawfully converted approximately $100,000 from customers by using their checkbooks to write unauthorized checks to herself and used the funds to pay Michelle Kern’s personal credit card bills. Some of the customers were elderly. Michelle Kern accepted checkbooks from two customers to destroy and instead of destroying them, she forged customer signatures and wrote personal checks to herself for approximately $100,000 and deposited the funds into Michell Kern’s personal checking account. Michelle Kern forged the customer signatures to create the false impression that the customers had authorized the deposit of checks into Michelle Kern’s personal checking account.
FINRA reports that 13 complaints involving Michelle Kern’s conduct with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. were filed, alleging misappropriation and/or unsuitability. These complaints all settled, with the largest complaint settling for $342,772.93.
If you lost any money on investments with Michelle Kern, or if funds were misappropriated from you, you may be able to recover your losses from Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. This is because Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. had a duty to supervise Michelle Kern.
If you lost money on investments with Michelle Kern and believe the investments may have been unsuitable or otherwise improper for you, or if funds were misappropriated from you, we would like to discuss the possibility of your retaining our firm to represent you in an arbitration action against Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. concerning Michelle Kern’s conduct. There is no charge for an evaluation of your case. Further, we handle our cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that unless we recover money for you, we charge no attorney’s fee. Unless you recover any money, you pay us nothing, not even the costs and expenses which the firm will advance on your behalf.
Kalju Nekvasil, Esq., formerly regional counsel with the NASD, now known as FINRA, has practiced in this area of the law for more than 35 years. Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A. has recovered more than $300 million on behalf of victimized investors. If you lost money on investments with Michelle Kern, or if funds were misappropriated from you, and would like your case evaluated by a securities attorney (again, there is no charge for an evaluation and all cases are handled on a purely contingency fee basis), please contact us.
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