Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LLP Investigating Claims Involving Stephen T. Hurtak, Juergen Weber, And Benjamin S. Johnson

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Sep 13, 2018, 10:51 ET

HOUSTON, Sept. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Lawyers with the Securities Law Firm of SHEPHERD SMITH EDWARDS & KANTAS LLP, www.investorlawyers.com, are investigating claims involving Stephen T. Hurtak, Juergen Weber, and Benjamin S. Johnson, all three of whom were recently barred from the securities industry.

Hurtak worked as a broker for Stifel Financial Services. Starting in 2016, numerous customers of Hurtak filed claims alleging that his investment recommendations were unsuitable, including claims that he failed to properly diversify customer accounts and also sold clients investments which were higher risk than appropriate for the customer. In 2018, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) barred Hurtak from the financial services industry for failing to cooperate with an investigation into his practices.

Weber was in the industry for 23 years until he also refused to take part in a FINRA investigation, also resulting in an industry bar for him. Weber has a reported history of acting in customer accounts without valid authority to do so, including being terminated from Wachovia Securities over allegations of unauthorized trades, a customer lawsuit with similar allegations, a suspension of his securities license in 2008 for that issue. Ultimately, the 2018 FINRA probe resulted in his being permanently barred from the industry.

Johnson, a former broker for J.P. Morgan Securities, has a record of numerous financial disclosures as well. Brokers are required to disclose a number of financial issues, including bankruptcies, tax liens, civil judgments, etc. Johnson's public record shows four such disclosures between 2011 and 2012. FINRA investigated Johnson in 2018 related to concerns that he had failed to properly report many more such issues, including seven different liens and judgments. Johnson also refused to cooperate with FINRA's investigation, leading to a permanent bar.

Often, when brokers engage in activity similar to the allegations in these FINRA investigations, there are a number of mistreated clients who may not know of wrongdoing in their accounts. People who currently or in the past have held brokerage accounts with these brokers should carefully review their accounts to ensure that there were not problems. Contact the law firm of Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LLP for an evaluation of your account to determine if you might have a claim for any wrongdoing. All communications will be kept strictly confidential, and you will not be billed in any way for a consultation.

Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LLP has a team of attorneys, consultants and staff with more than 100 years of combined experience in the securities industry and in securities law. For more than two decades, our firm has represented thousands of investors nationwide to recover losses. We have represented clients in Federal and state courts and in arbitration through FINRA, the New York Stock Exchange Inc. (NYSE), the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and in private arbitration actions.

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SOURCE Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LLP