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Claimant Wins $57 Million in FINRA Arbitration Award and Once More Around The Loop with Bill Singer
August 17, 2022
It's summer. It's a Wednesday. BrokeAndBroker.com's dashing, debonair, and effervescent personality Bill Singer is in a whimsical mood. Or perhaps it's gas from one too many burritos. With Bill you just never know. Whimsy or flatulence aside, Bill's sort of hot and tired and not really in a particularly serious mood today. On top of that, what the hell was with the final season of Westworld? Was that Dolores or not, and more to the point, that's four years out of my life that I won't get back. But, I digress. Yeah, but, c'mon: "Halores?" That's the best you could come up with? Really? One last loop around the bend. Maybe this time we'll set ourselves free. I don't think so.
Case in Point
In a FINRA Arbitration Statement of Claim filed in April 2022, Claimant IFS alleged that:
IFS Securities Inc. ("IFS") was forced to cease operations as a broker dealer as a direct result of trading losses in Treasury securities suffered as a direct result of the fraudulent and dishonest actions of Respondent. Claimant also alleged that Respondent is liable for indemnification for claims by third parties in the IFS bankruptcy estate.
In the Matter of the Arbitration Between Marshall Glade, as Liquidating Trustee of the IFS Liquidation Trust, Claimant, v. Keith Wakefield, Respondent (FINRA Arbitration Award 22-00910)
https://www.finra.org/sites/default/files/aao_documents/22-00910.pdf
https://www.finra.org/sites/default/files/aao_documents/22-00910.pdf
Respondent Wakefield did not appear. Claimant sought over $37,000,000.00; costs and interest, including reasonable attorneys' fees; and indemnification in the amount of $20,000,000.00. The sole FINRA Arbitrator found:
Bill Singer's Comment1. Respondent is liable for and shall pay to Claimant the sum of $57,000,000.00 in compensatory damages.2. Respondent is liable for and shall pay to Claimant the sum of $2,700.00 to reimburse Claimant for the non-refundable portion of the filing fee previously paid to FINRA Dispute Resolution Services.3. Any and all claims for relief not specifically addressed herein, including any requests for punitive damages, treble damages, and attorneys' fees, are denied.
So lemme see here -- I got out the old calculator and 57,000,000 times 1/3, which would have been my contingency fee, that's $18.810,000 million. Not a bad payday. Figure 50% tax for city, state, federal and whatnot, that's about $9 million and change, net. Now if I put all that into crypto and the crypto like triples, then I got about $27 million; or, wait a sec, what if I put the whole shebang into some meme stock and maybe pay a few kids to go onto social media and pump the meme stock, and then, sure, the stock could like quintuple, that could happen, right?, and then, let's see, $9 million times five would be like $45 million. Then again, after some 40 years on the Street I know from diversification, so, on second thought, howsabout I put half my $18 million fee into crypto and the other half into meme stocks? Maybe I could rebuild Sweetwater and reprogram Dolores?