Boston Investment Fraud Lawyers & FINRA Attorneys

Investment fraud lawyers serving Boston and Greater Boston

Boston is a major financial center — home to Fidelity Investments, State Street, Wellington Management, Liberty Mutual, and a dense concentration of other major financial institutions whose employees, clients, and counterparties represent a large and sophisticated investor community. The Greater Boston area’s technology and biotechnology corridor — spanning Cambridge, Waltham, Woburn, Burlington, and the Route 128 technology belt — has produced significant wealth whose equity compensation and private investment assets are consistently targeted by broker misconduct.

Greater Boston’s investor community includes both highly sophisticated institutional and professional investors and a large retirement-age population in suburban communities including Newton, Brookline, Wellesley, Needham, Lexington, and Concord whose accumulated retirement savings require careful protection. Bakhtiari & Harrison represents all categories of Boston-area investors in FINRA arbitration and securities litigation.

Greater Boston communities we serve

Bakhtiari & Harrison represents investors throughout Greater Boston — including Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, Newton, Waltham, Quincy, Medford, Malden, Woburn, Burlington, Lexington, Concord, Needham, Wellesley, Dedham, Braintree, Weymouth, and all surrounding communities. For investors outside Greater Boston visit the Massachusetts Investment Fraud Lawyers page. For Worcester investors visit the Worcester page.

Investment fraud and misconduct claims we handle

• Unsuitable investment recommendations: brokers who recommend investments inconsistent with an investor’s risk tolerance, financial situation, or investment objectives violate FINRA Rule 2111 and Regulation Best Interest.
• Broker fraud and misrepresentation: material misstatements and omissions in connection with an investment recommendation are actionable under federal securities law and FINRA rules.
• Unauthorized trading: executing transactions without prior client authorization violates the account agreement and FINRA rules.
• Churning and excessive trading: excessive trading to generate commissions at the investor’s expense is actionable as a suitability violation.
• Overconcentration: failing to maintain adequate diversification in a single security, sector, or product is a suitability violation.
• Product failure: unsuitable recommendations of complex or illiquid products including non-traded REITs, structured notes, variable annuities, leveraged ETFs, and private placements.
• Elder financial fraud: financial professionals who exploit elderly or vulnerable investors face enhanced liability under federal and state elder financial abuse statutes.
• Failure to supervise: brokerage firms bear independent liability under FINRA Rule 3110 for failing to adequately supervise their registered representatives.

Boston-specific investment fraud patterns

• Biotechnology and life sciences equity compensation: Boston’s world-class life sciences cluster — anchored by Cambridge’s Kendall Square and extending through Waltham, Woburn, and the broader Route 128 corridor — has produced significant equity compensation wealth for researchers, executives, and entrepreneurs whose vesting events create concentrated stock positions that brokers frequently mismanage.
• Financial industry insider fraud: Boston’s large financial services sector creates specific exposure to broker misconduct by advisers with conflicts of interest in recommending proprietary products, undisclosed revenue sharing arrangements, and private placement fraud targeting accredited financial industry professionals.
• University and institutional community: Boston’s extraordinary concentration of universities, hospitals, and research institutions has created a substantial community of highly educated professionals who are sometimes targeted precisely because their sophistication in their own fields does not translate to investment expertise.
• Retirement wealth in suburban communities: Newton, Brookline, Wellesley, Lexington, and surrounding affluent suburbs are home to a large retirement-age population whose accumulated savings are consistently targeted by variable annuity abuse, non-traded REIT fraud, and elder financial exploitation.

Massachusetts securities law — Chapter 93A and Chapter 110A

Massachusetts investors have access to claims under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act (Chapter 93A) — which provides double or treble damages and attorneys’ fee recovery for willful unfair or deceptive practices — in addition to the Massachusetts Uniform Securities Act (Chapter 110A) and federal securities law. Chapter 93A claims can be particularly powerful in broker misconduct cases where the conduct is egregious enough to support a willfulness finding.

Why choose Bakhtiari & Harrison as your Boston investment fraud lawyers

• $250 million+ recovered. Four decades of results for investors in FINRA arbitration and securities litigation nationwide.
• Former FINRA NAMC Chairman. Ryan Bakhtiari served as Chairman of the FINRA National Arbitration and Mediation Committee from 2013 to 2017 — the body that writes the rules governing every FINRA arbitration proceeding.
• Former Morgan Stanley in-house counsel. David Harrison spent years as in-house counsel at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and began his career as a Series 7-licensed registered representative at Shearson Lehman Brothers.
• FINRA hearings near you. FINRA arbitration hearings are held at the venue nearest the claimant’s residence.
• Contingency fee representation. No recovery, no fee. Initial consultations are free.

Frequently asked questions — Boston investment fraud lawyers

Do I need a local Boston attorney for a FINRA arbitration claim?

Not necessarily. FINRA arbitration hearings are held at the venue nearest the claimant’s residence. Bakhtiari & Harrison represents investors throughout Massachusetts and nationwide. What matters most is the attorney’s specific FINRA arbitration experience and knowledge of the claims at issue.

What is the deadline to file a FINRA arbitration claim in Massachusetts?

Under FINRA Rule 12206, claims must be filed within six years of the events giving rise to the dispute. Massachusetts investors may also have state law claims under the Massachusetts Uniform Securities Act with their own limitations periods. Contact Bakhtiari & Harrison promptly — time limits are strictly enforced.

What investment fraud is most common in Boston?

Boston investors face specific patterns tied to the city’s dominant industries — equity compensation mismanagement for biotechnology and technology professionals, private placement fraud targeting accredited investors in Greater Boston’s innovation economy, and financial industry insider fraud involving proprietary product recommendations and revenue sharing conflicts. Variable annuity abuse and elder financial fraud are prevalent in Boston’s substantial suburban retirement communities. Bakhtiari & Harrison evaluates all Boston investment fraud claims at no charge.

Does Bakhtiari & Harrison represent investors throughout Greater Boston including Cambridge and the suburbs?

Yes. Bakhtiari & Harrison represents investors throughout Greater Boston including Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, Newton, Waltham, Quincy, Medford, Woburn, Burlington, Lexington, Concord, Needham, Wellesley, and all surrounding communities. FINRA arbitration hearings are held at the venue nearest the claimant’s residence.

Contact our investment fraud lawyers — free consultation

Contact Bakhtiari & Harrison for a free, confidential consultation. Our FINRA attorneys evaluate every potential investor claim at no charge. Investor cases are handled on a contingency fee basis — no recovery, no fee.

Investor cases are handled on a contingency fee basis — no recovery, no fee.

Call: (800) 382-7969 | Contact Us