A FINRA arbitration panel ordered former Los Angeles-area broker Li-Lin Hsu of Ameriprise Financial Services to pay $675,000 in damages to her former employer, Ameriprise.
The award is unusual as it comes as a result third-party claim for indemnity based on a $675,000 settlement paid by Ameriprise to a former customer who alleged that Hsu misappropriated funds and breached her fiduciary duty to her client.
The underlying customer's complaint accused Ameriprise of concealing or failing to disclose that Hsu had been placed on suspension for "repeated" violations of company policies and laws when the firm assigned Hsu to the customer.
Ameriprise fired Hsu (CRD #4706509) in 2015 for "maintaining a beneficiary relationship with a client, complaint handling, commingling funds, and conducting business with a foreign client" after the firm had suspended Hsu.
Additional customer complaints and disputes in Hsu's file alleged that Hsu "illegally borrowed money" from a client, advised a client to purchase an unprofitable business for Hsu's personal gain, traded in client accounts without permission or knowledge, and misappropriated several hundreds of thousands of dollars in customer funds.
Hsu had requested reinstatement from the Securities and Exchange Commission, but the SEC dismissed her application for review. Hsu is also affiliated with an entity known as "Li-Lin Hsu Wealth Management" in the greater Los Angeles area.
If you have invested with Southern California broker Li-Lin Hsu, formerly of Ameriprise Financial Services, or with any broker or financial adviser who has misappropriated funds or recommended unsuitable investments, engaged in excessive and unauthorized trades, or other activity that has proven harmful to your investments or interests, including a previously-suspended broker whose disciplinary history the firm failed to disclose, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.