Friday, October 10, 2014

Canadian Lotto Winner Sues his Investment Adviser

A Lotto winner from Vancouver, Canada, is suing his former financial adviser because he claims her bad or unauthorized investments cost him most of his fortune.

Mohammed Shakil Khan won the CAD$ 3.9 million Canada Lotto 649 jackpot on March 3, 2007, and put his trust in financial advisor, Catherine Jones, from Leede Financial Markets Inc.

Khan hoped Jones would build an investment portfolio that could generate a steady stream of income, but he now claims his faith was misplaced and that Jones' mishandling of the funds has cost him CAD$ 2.3 million.

Although he initially met with other advisers, Khan eventually decided to entrust CAD$ 3.5 million to Leede Financial Markets.

Khan states Jones told him the portfolio would contain a mix of blue chip stocks—to provide dividend payments—and high performing bonds.

As a new investor, Khan relied on Jones' experience, and she assured him the investments would reap him CAD$ 50,000 each month, but this was not the case.

According to the lawsuit, filed in the British Columbia Supreme Court, Jones "repeatedly overstated the value of the portfolio" and mislead Khan into thinking it was worth more than it was.

Khan also states Jones engaged in an number of unauthorized transaction, between May 2007 and April 2008, selling blue chip equity-paying stocks and using the money to invest in speculative ventures that resulted in transaction fees, but allowed Jones to improve her commissions. He also reports several other betrayals of trust and is suing for the lost funds to be returned to him.

Three of the companies Jones worked for are named in the law suit as defendants— Leede Financial Markets Inc., Global Securities Corporation, and Union Securities Ltd.