FINRA ordered former Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., and Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. broker Karl Edward Hahn to pay former clients over $11 million in restitution following allegations and a hearing panel's findings that Hahn engaged in several instances of egregious misconduct, including common law fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty and churning.
FINRA Case #1100603 (Related: Case #1102623)
According to the Award, authored by a three-person FINRA arbitration panel, Hahn was found responsible for his customer's losses based in part on unsuitable investment recommendations regarding structured products, variable annuity ("VAs"), and exchange traded funds ("ETFs"). Hahn was also accused of excessive trading, a tactic sometimes employed by nefarious brokers to boost commissions.
A similar San Francisco-based claim awarded nearly $10 million to customers based on allegations of fraud, concealment and omissions, professional negligence and negligent supervision. In that case, a couple accused Hahn of swindling them in a multi-million dollar insurance deal.
Furthermore, the State of New Hampshire in 2011 found Hahn had brokered an insurance transactions that paid commissions to his father and failed to disclose this arrangement to Oppenheimer; New Hampshire barred Hahn for this and for selling away, soliciting an investor to make an investment away from the firm.
If you have invested with Karl Edward Hahn or any other broker that has engaged in illegal activity or other industry misconduct, and such conduct has proven harmful to your interests, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.