NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ameriprise Financial Inc agreed to pay very great number to settle lawsuits filed by clients of its independent-brokerage unit who bought private placements in companies later revealed to be Ponzi schemes, a lawyer for the plaintiffs reported on Thursday.
Two weeks ago the unit, Securities America, agreed to a detach million settlement with the same class of roughly 2,000 investors, who bewildered about 0 million.
Daniel Girard of San Francisco-based principle firm Girard Gibbs, attorney for the investors, afore~ both class-action cases were filed in 2009.
Officials from Ameriprise were not profitable for comment. Janine Wertheim, a spokeswoman because of Securities America, said in an email that the established was pleased the settlement was going to a federal judge for approval.
“We be persuaded this represents good progress as we follow close a resolution to this matter,” she wrote.
Securities America, based in La Vista, Nebraska, is single in kind of many broker-dealers who sold secluded-placement interests in two companies — Medical Capital and Provident Royalties — that went bust in 2009. U.S. securities regulators accused the companies of guile in July of that year.
Girard told Reuters in some interview that the settlements, combined with up to million of insurance wealth, could yield about million to have existence distributed among victims.
That works used up to 20 cents on the dollar, he afore~, “which by the standards of this choose of litigation is an excellent result.” In many Ponzi schemes, there are no assets left to revive, he said.
“There has been a unclouded amount of scrutiny directed at the advisers,” he afore~. “As securities professionals, there were sufficiency warning bells and red flags that they should be favored with asked more questions than they did.”
Ameriprise, he remarkable, was not directly involved in approving the secluded placement transactions. It was sued viewed like a “control person,” given its ownership and supervision of Securities America, he added.
The Ameriprise installation was first reported by Investment News.
In its lasting a year report filed on Monday, Ameriprise disclosed that Securities America clients faced pressingly 0 million in losses from Medical Capital and Provident Royalties.
Ameriprise, common of the country’s largest fiscal planning and wealth management firms, in its lasting a year report said it has reserved relating to million to cover claims.
In addition to the class actions, Ameriprise and Securities America meet ~ to ~ complaints in Massachusetts and “a significative volume” of individual arbitration claims.
Securities America is a netting that provides support services to with respect to 1,800 self-employed brokers who generated 0 the public in revenue last year. These brokers perform not use the Ameriprise brand.
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