June 1, 2010 According to a FINRA Dispute Resolution Arbitration claim filed by the Meissner firm on behalf of Long Island, New York Couple, it is alleged that Merrill Lynch through its broker Rosalie Fields, who was employed in their New York, N.Y. offices, promoted Fannie Mae preferred stock as the equivalent of government back secure bonds with a guaranteed yield of 8 1/4 percent, which representations turned out to be false.
The couple at the time was seeking safe investments and instead were highly concentrated in financial sector equity and preferred securities as well as the Fannie Mae preferred stock.
According to Ms. Fields public FINRA record at www.finra.org Broker Check Report and State Records, Ms. Fields, who is now employed with Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, was dismissed from Merrill Lynch on December 1, 2008 for improperly reporting a resolution of another customer complaint. The same report states that Ms. Fields on December 20, 2009 had another customer complaint, similar to the pending claim filed, regarding unsuitable investments in Fannie Mae Preferred Stock and in 2008 was the subject of an unauthorized trading complaint relating to preferred stock which had been settled.
The law firm is currently investigating other potential claims involving the sale and promotion by Merrill Lynch of Fannie Mae stock as the equivalent as government backed safe bonds. If you were marketed Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac preferred shares by Merrill Lynch, Rosalie Fields or others at Merrill Lynch or Janney Montgomery Scott, or unsuitably concentrated in financial related securities by such firms, and believe you were misled, please contact the Meissner firm to assist in our ongoing investigation.
The Meissner law firm is managed by Stuart D. Meissner Esq. former prosecutor in the Trial Division of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and prosecutor in the Securities Investor Protection and Financial Crimes units of the New York State Attorney General’s Office is a nationally recognized securities arbitration law firm with record win statistics*.