Stoltmann Law Offices is investigating Jeffrey B. Pierce because of allegations that he violated securities industry rules by making annuity switches in customer accounts. Pierce allegedly circumvented his firm’s procedures in order to conceal annuity switches involving seven customers. He also provided false documentation to his firm, MidAmerica Financial, regarding the switches. The switches in seven customer accounts were unsuitable for the customers, whose ages ranged from 66 to 74, and Pierce made intentional material misrepresentations to them and his firm. He also fraudulently and willfully failed to inform four customers of material facts pertaining to surrender charges, tax liabilities and exchanges to defer taxes. Annuity switches are contracts where, in return for an investment of a lump sum of money, and insurance company promises to make periodic payments to an investor, at a future time and they can have fixed or variable rates of return. These rates vary with stock, bond and money market sub-accounts. They are intended to be long-term investments, typically ranging from five to eight years.
Jeffrey Pierce took many actions to conceal the annuity switches from his firm. He allegedly had the annuities paid by check and mailed to MidAmerica, rather than depositing the proceeds into customer accounts, so the firm would not make the connection between the liquidation of the old annuities and the purchase of the new. He also provided false information on Annuity Reporting Sheets as to the funding source for the new annuity purchases in the seven customer accounts, and he also failed to complete a Firm Replacement Switch Disclosure Form, which is required when a client replaces an annuity. For these, Pierce was fined $25,000 and suspended from the industry for one year.
Pierce was registered with BankBoston Investor Services in Boston, Massachusetts, from March 1999 until April 2000, FIS Securities in Boston from April 2000 until September 2000, IFMG Securities in Boston from October 2000 until May 2008, Investors Capital Corp in Quincy, Massachusetts, from June 2008 until September 2008, SagePoint Financial in Quincy from February 2009 until June 2009 and MidAmerica Financial Services in Quincy, from September 2009 until December 2013. He has five customer disputes against him, and is not currently with any member firm. He has been permanently barred from the industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Jeffrey Pierce’s former firm, MidAmerica Financial, can be held liable if you lost money with Pierce. They had a duty to reasonably supervise him while he was employed with them. If you invested money with him or his former firm, please call our law offices at 312-332-4200 to speak to an attorney. The call is free and we sue firms such as MidAmerica to help investors recover their financial losses.
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