Securities Fraud Attorneys for Investors
Industria Business Lawyers represents investors nationwide who lost money through a brokerage firm, a financial adviser, or someone who sold them an investment on a false footing.
Securities fraud is a false statement, a hidden fact, or a scheme used to induce someone to buy or sell an investment. When the person on the other side of it is a brokerage firm or a financial adviser, the claim is usually decided in FINRA arbitration rather than in court. Industria Business Lawyers represents investors in those claims from every state, because FINRA is a national forum and FINRA Rule 12208 allows a party to be represented there by an attorney admitted in any U.S. state, unless the law of a state with jurisdiction over the representation prohibits it.
This page explains what counts as securities fraud, where a claim is brought depending on who is on the other side, the three deadlines that can apply at once, and what to gather before you call. Every rule, statute, and case cited was read at its source on 16 September 2026.
Every matter is reviewed on its own facts. Not every loss can be pursued, and you will hear that plainly either way.
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Securities Fraud Claims We Handle
SEC Rule 10b-5 makes it unlawful, in connection with the purchase or sale of any security, to employ a scheme to defraud, to make an untrue statement of a material fact or omit a fact needed to keep what was said from being misleading, or to engage in any practice that operates as a fraud. Florida’s section 517.301 reaches the same conduct in connection with investment advice and the offer, sale, or purchase of any investment or security. In practice the fraud that reaches an investor’s lawyer looks like one of these.
Misrepresentation and Omission
A product described as safe, as guaranteed, as liquid, or as income-producing when it was none of those things. Risks, fees, conflicts of interest, or the adviser’s own stake in the sale left out of the conversation. The product documents, read against what the investor was told, usually settle which it was.
Unsuitable Recommendations
A product that did not fit the investor’s age, income, objectives, or risk tolerance, sold anyway. Suitability turns on what the firm knew about the customer when the recommendation was made, which is why the account opening documents matter as much as the trade.
Unauthorized and Excessive Trading
Transactions the investor did not approve, or trading at a volume that served the broker’s commissions rather than the account. Both show up in the trade confirmations and the account statements, which is why the full record is the first thing IBL asks for.
Selling Away
A broker selling an investment that the brokerage firm never approved, often a private deal in which the broker had an interest. The firm’s failure to supervise the broker is usually the path to holding the firm responsible for the loss.
Ponzi and Affinity Schemes
Returns paid from new investors’ money, often sold through a community, a church, or a profession the promoter belonged to. The claim may lie against the promoter, the adviser who introduced the investment, and the firm that employed the adviser.
Failure to Supervise
A brokerage firm that did not catch what its broker was doing. Supervisory records, branch communications, and product due-diligence files are the documents that decide these claims; FINRA’s Document Production Lists presume the firm’s supervisory review records discoverable, and due-diligence files are usually sought by additional request.
Where a Securities Fraud Claim Is Brought, and How Long You Have
Forum depends on who is on the other side. Timing depends on three clocks that can run at once.
Against a brokerage firm or its broker: FINRA arbitration. Under FINRA Rule 12200 a firm must arbitrate a dispute with a customer when a written agreement requires it or when the customer requests it, so long as the dispute arises from the firm’s business. Nearly every brokerage account agreement contains that clause. Under FINRA Rule 12401, claims over $100,000 go to a three-arbitrator panel unless the parties agree otherwise.
Against a registered investment adviser, a promoter, or an issuer: arbitration or court. Advisers and promoters who are neither FINRA members nor associated persons of a member cannot be compelled into FINRA arbitration under Rule 12200. The advisory agreement may name AAA, JAMS, or another body. If it does not, the claim goes to state or federal court. Where several parties are involved, which forum applies to which party is one of the first questions IBL answers.
The FINRA clock. Under FINRA Rule 12206, a claim is not eligible for arbitration once six years have passed from the occurrence or event giving rise to it.
The federal clock. Under 28 U.S.C. section 1658(b), a private claim for fraud under the securities laws must be brought within the earlier of two years after discovery of the facts constituting the violation or five years after the violation itself.
The state clock. Under section 95.11(3)(i), Florida Statutes, an action founded on fraud must be brought within four years, and under section 95.11(5)(f) an action founded on a violation of chapter 517, such as a claim under section 517.211, must be brought within two years from when the facts were or should have been discovered with due diligence, and no more than five years from the violation. Other states set their own periods. When each period begins is often the real dispute, so bring the dates.
Remedies. Damages for the loss the fraud caused and, where the panel finds it appropriate, interest. Under section 517.211, Florida Statutes, a sale that violates the statute’s registration and dealer provisions, or a purchase or sale that violates its anti-fraud section 517.301, can support an action for rescission if the investor still owns the security or for damages if it has been sold, against the seller and any director, officer, partner, or agent who personally participated or aided in the sale, jointly and severally.
Next question: Is FINRA arbitration worth it? Then: How do I file a FINRA arbitration claim?
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Tell Us About Your Matter
How We Work a Securities Fraud Claim
Case Assessment +
Account statements, trade confirmations, the account agreement, the product documents, and every written communication with the broker, read against what the investor was told. The assessment says whether the claim belongs in FINRA arbitration or elsewhere, which deadline controls, and what it will take to prove.
Statement of Claim +
The written claim filed with FINRA setting out the facts, the parties, the causes of action, and the damages sought. Under FINRA Rule 12303 the respondent must serve its answer within 45 days of receiving it.
Panel Selection +
The parties rank and strike arbitrators from the lists FINRA provides. Under Rule 12401 the panel is one arbitrator for claims up to $50,000, one unless the parties agree to three for claims up to $100,000, and three above that.
Discovery +
Under FINRA Rule 12506 the documents presumed discoverable in customer cases are set out in FINRA’s Document Production Lists, and each side must produce them within 60 days of the date the answer is due. Additional requests, objections, and motions follow.
Mediation +
Voluntary, and used in many cases before the hearing. Most cases that go to FINRA mediation settle there, and many others settle directly between the parties.
Hearing +
Witnesses, exhibits, and argument before the panel at the hearing location FINRA assigns, which is generally the one nearest the customer.
Award and Collection +
Under FINRA Rule 12904 a monetary award must be paid within 30 days of receipt unless a motion to vacate is filed in court, and it bears interest if it is not. The grounds for vacating an award are the narrow ones in the Federal Arbitration Act, which the Supreme Court held exclusive in Hall Street Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc., 552 U.S. 576 (2008). In practice, the award is the end of the case.
FAQ
01 • Securities Do I have to live in Florida to work with IBL on a securities fraud claim?
No. FINRA arbitration is a national forum and IBL represents investors nationwide. Claims outside FINRA are assessed case by case according to where they must be brought.
02 • Securities My broker says the loss was just the market. Is that the end of it?
Not necessarily. Market losses are not fraud. Losses caused by a product that was misrepresented, a recommendation that was unsuitable, or trading that was never authorized can be, even in a falling market. The account records usually show which it was.
03 • Securities Can I bring a claim if I signed the account paperwork?
Signing an account agreement does not waive a fraud claim. It usually means the claim goes to FINRA arbitration rather than court.
04 • Securities What should I gather before I call?
Account statements for the full period, including the months before the investment; trade confirmations and any product documents; the account and advisory agreements; every email, text, and letter with the broker or adviser in date order; your own notes of what you were told; and a figure for the amount lost with the year the losses occurred.
Talk to a Securities Fraud Attorney
Investors nationwide. Call (202) 860-1210 or briefly describe what happened through the form, without account numbers or other confidential details, and we will ask for statements after our conflict check. Every matter is reviewed on its own facts.
This page provides general information about securities fraud claims and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Sources: SEC Rule 10b-5 (17 C.F.R. 240.10b-5); 28 U.S.C. 1658(b); sections 95.11, 517.211, and 517.301, Florida Statutes (2026); FINRA Rules 12200, 12206, 12208, 12303, 12401, 12506, 12900, and 12904; Hall Street Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc., 552 U.S. 576 (2008).