Securities Lawyers Blog
The investment attorneys of Gana Weinstein LLP are interested in speaking with clients of Detlef Schoeppler (Schoeppler). According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Schoeppler has been the subject of at least 10 customer complaints, one criminal matter, and three judgments or liens. The customer complaints against Schoeppler allege securities law violations that claim unsuitable investments in various investment products including REITs, variable annuities, and mutual funds. The most recent complaint was filed in August 2012, and alleged $77,569 in damages due to claims that the broker recommended a variable annuity purchase in June 2011 that was misrepresented to the customer. In addition, the customer alleged that the fees were not fully disclosed and that there were trades made without the client’s authorization.
In addition, in July 2014, two tax liens were imposed on Schoeppler. One lien is for $184,519 and the other is for $182,691. A broker with large liens are an important consideration for investors to consider when dealing with a financial advisor. An advisor may be conflicted to offer high commission investments to customers in order to satisfy liens and debts that may not be in the client’s best interests.
Schoeppler entered the securities industry in 1996. Since June 1996, Schoeppler has been associated with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. out of the firm’s Tampa, Florida branch office location.
Many of the complaints involve the sale of variable annuities. Variable annuities are complex products that combine aspects of investing and insurance. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released a publication entitled: Variable Annuities: What You Should Know encouraging investors to ask questions about the variable annuity before investing. Essentially, a variable annuity is a contract with an insurance company under which the insurer agrees to make periodic payments to you. The investor chooses the investments made in the annuity and value of your variable annuity will vary depending on the performance of the investment options chosen. The primary benefits of variable annuities are the death benefit and tax deferment of investment gains.
However, variable annuities are often unsuitable for investors because the benefits of variable annuities are often outweighed by the terms of the contract that include exorbitant expenses such as surrender charges, mortality and expense charges, management fees, market-related risks, and rider costs.
The number of customer complaints against Schoeppler is high relative to his peers. According to InvestmentNews, only about 12% of financial advisors have any type of disclosure event on their records. Brokers must publicly disclose certain types of reportable events on their CRD including but not limited to customer complaints. In addition to disclosing client disputes brokers must divulge IRS tax liens, judgments, and criminal matters. However, FINRA’s records are not always complete according to a Wall Street Journal story that checked with 26 state regulators and found that at least 38,400 brokers had regulatory or financial red flags such as a personal bankruptcy that showed up in state records but not on BrokerCheck. More disturbing is the fact that 19,000 out of those 38,400 brokers had spotless BrokerCheck records.
The investment lawyers at Gana Weinstein LLP represent investors who have suffered investment losses due to allegations of wrongdoing. The majority of these claims may be brought in securities arbitration before FINRA. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.