TAMPA, Fla., May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A., announces they have won a FINRA arbitration award against Wall Street Strategies, Inc. ("WSSI") on behalf of Margaret D. White, a 75 year old retiree from Lehigh Acres, Florida. Mrs. White has only a high school education and cleans homes for a living.
White alleged that Louis K. Kittlaus ("Kittlaus"), a WSSI representative, recommended that she invest $100,000 in Fuel-From-Waste, LLC, in 2012. Fuel-From-Waste, LLC, was a Fairfield, New Jersey, company that intended to build a plant to convert animal waste into organic oil. Mrs. White alleged that this high-risk investment was unsuitable for her and that Kittlaus misrepresented the risks of this investment. Mrs. White also alleged that WSSI did not conduct a reasonable due diligence on this investment. Mrs. White lost her entire investment.
Kittlaus was suspended from the securities industry for two years by FINRA for making false, exaggerated, unwarranted and misleading statements to the public, and did not appear at the April 18 - 19, 2017, hearing in Tampa, Florida. After hearing evidence for several days, including the testimony of Garry N. Savage, Sr., the CEO, Chief Compliance Officer and President of WSSI, the Arbitration Panel found that WSSI was liable to Mrs. White for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and negligence.
The Panel awarded Mrs. White her out-of-pocket losses of $93,857.36, along with prejudgment interest of $21,318.10. The Panel also awarded $2,500 in sanctions for WSSI's violation of Panel discovery orders, $38,972.93 in attorney's fees (which included $8,000 for filing a frivolous Motion to Dismiss) and $3,213.56 in costs.
"This award shows that arbitration panels will make broker-dealers pay when high-risk investments are sold without adequate due diligence," said Kalju Nekvasil, Esq., of Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A., a Clearwater, Florida, law firm.