ISRAELS & NEUMAN, PLC – Minnesota Securities Attorneys
Sections 501 and 509 of the Minnesota Securities Act.
Israels & Neuman are securities arbitration and investment fraud attorneys that represent Minnesota residents who have been wronged by their stockbrokers and brokerage firms. Our investment fraud attorneys have previously represented investors in Minnesota, including several investors who are victims of a Ponzi Scheme run by former Stillwater, Minnesota financial advisor Levi Lindemann, as well as a number of investors who lost money in a bond mutual fund, including former Minnesota Vikings players.
The residents of Minnesota are protected by the provisions of the Minnesota Securities Act. This Act provides for the regulation of the sale of securities to Minnesota residents and to Minnesota financial advisors and stockbrokers. Additionally, the Securities Unit of the Minnesota Department of Commerce, with offices in St. Paul, was created to help enforce the provisions of the Minnesota Securities Act.
Minnesota Statute Section 80A.68 of the Minnesota Securities Act (also called Sction 501) provides for liability if a financial advisor or investment advisor misrepresents the risks of an investment to you. In particular, this statute provides that:
80A.68 SECTION 501; GENERAL FRAUD.
It is unlawful for a person, in connection with the offer, sale, or purchase of a security, directly or indirectly:
(1) to employ a device, scheme, or artifice to defraud;
(2) to make an untrue statement of a material fact or to omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make a statement made, in the light of the circumstances under which it is made, not misleading; or
(3) to engage in an act, practice, or course of business that operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon another person.
See Minn. Stat. § 80A.68. The Minnesota Securities Act further provides civil remedies in the event that the Act is violated:
(b) Liability of seller to purchaser. A person is liable to the purchaser if the person sells a security in violation of section 80A.49 or, by means of an untrue statement of a material fact or an omission to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statement made, in light of the circumstances under which it is made, not misleading, the purchaser not knowing the untruth or omission and the seller not sustaining the burden of proof that the seller did not know and, in the exercise of reasonable care, could not have known of the untruth or omission. An action under this subsection is governed by the following:
(1) The purchaser may maintain an action to recover the consideration paid for the security, less the amount of any income received on the security, and interest from the date of the purchase, costs, and reasonable attorneys’ fees determined by the court, upon the tender of the security, or for actual damages as provided in paragraph (3).
(2) The tender referred to in paragraph (1) may be made any time before entry of judgment. Tender requires only notice in a record of ownership of the security and willingness to exchange the security for the amount specified. A purchaser that no longer owns the security may recover actual damages as provided in paragraph (3).
(3) Actual damages in an action arising under this subsection are the amount that would be recoverable upon a tender less the value of the security when the purchaser disposed of it, and interest from the date of the purchase, costs, and reasonable attorneys’ fees determined by the court.
See Minn. Stat. § 80A.76 (also called Section 509).
If your financial advisor or stockbroker makes misrepresentations to you when selling securities, he or she may be liable for your losses. In addition, the brokerage firm that your advisor works for may also be liable.
Israels & Neuman PLC is a securities arbitration and investment fraud law firm with offices in Denver, Colorado and the Seattle area. We represent investors in FINRA arbitration and securities arbitration proceedings in all 50 states, including representing investors previously throughout Minnesota and the Twin Cities, and in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Brooklyn Park, Duluth, St. Cloud, Eagan, Maple Grove, Eden Prairie, Coon Rapids, Burnsville, and Blaine. Our securities attorneys have represented over one thousand investors against many brokerage firms in the past, including LPL Financial, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Smith Barney, Stifel Nicolaus & Company, UBS Financial Services, Oppenheimer, Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo Advisors, Ameriprise Financial Services, Raymond James, ProEquities, Securities America, National Securities Corp., and many others.
Click to view: Minnesota Securities Act – Civil Liabilities
Click to view: Minnesota Securities Act – Anti-Fraud Provisions
If you are a resident of Minnesota and have lost money with your financial advisor or investment advisor, please CONTACT ISRAELS & NEUMAN at 206-795-5798 for a free evaluation of your case.