• December 9, 2018
• Broker Discipline
• Wells Fargo Advisors

The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. is currently investigating claims against Ronald Blascyzk, a former Financial Adviser at Wells Fargo Clearing Services in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  Ronald Blascyzk has been in the securities industry since the 1990s and previously worked at US Bancorp Investments.

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), on December 3, 2018, Ronald Blascyzk was named in a FINRA enforcement action for allegedly selling unsuitable securities to an elderly client.  The FINRA complaint states:

“Blasczyk was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he made unsuitable recommendations when he recommended to his 75-year old customer that she liquidate a valuable variable annuity that she had owned for ten years and use the proceeds to purchase a new variable annuity offered by a different company. The complaint alleges that Blasczyk then arranged to meet with the customer to execute the documents necessary to purchase the new annuity. The customer was confused about the purpose of the meeting, and asked her daughter to attend. At the meeting, the customer informed Blasczyk not to sell or exchange the variable annuity she owned. Unbeknownst to the customer, Blasczyk had liquidated the variable annuity she owned and placed the proceeds into her Individual Retirement Account (IRA) weeks before the meeting at which the customer rejected Blasczyk’s recommendation. Blasczyk did not inform the customer or her daughter of this prior liquidation at the meeting.”

The regulatory proceeding remains ongoing.  For a full copy of the Complaint, click https://www.finra.org/sites/default/files/fda_documents/2016052503101%20Ronald%20R.%20Blasczyk%20CRD%203065429%20Complaint%20va.pdf.

Elder financial abuse is a growing trend in the financial serviced industry due to the aging baby boomer population.  It is estimated that by 2030, baby boomers will control nearly $26 trillion in assets, which inherently creates opportunity for misconduct.  The federal government and states have enacted enhanced legislation to address this issue but there is still a lot of work to be done.

Financial advisors have a legal and regulatory obligation to recommend only suitable investments that are appropriate for their clients’ needs and objectives. Their employing brokerage firm has a legal and regulatory obligation to supervise the Financial Advisors’ sales practices and dealings with clients.  To the extent any of these duties are breached, the customer may be entitled to a recovery of his or her investment losses.   Part of the suitability analysis requires that the trades are quantitatively suitable, meaning that the broker cannot execute excessive trades or engage in churning.

The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. is interested in speaking with clients of Ronald Blascyzk as part of its investigation.  We can be reached at 800.931.8452 or by email at mwolper@wolperlawfirm.com.  The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. represents investors nationwide in securities litigation and arbitration on a contingency fee basis.  Matt Wolper, the Managing Principal of the Wolper Law Firm, P.A., is a trial lawyer who has handled hundreds of securities cases during his career involving a wide range of products, strategies and securities.  Prior to representing investors, he was a partner with a national law firm, where he represented some of the largest banks and brokerage firms in the world in securities matters.