SAN ANTONIO, Oct. 5, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Securities Law Firm of Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LLP, www.sseklaw.com, is investigating Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, in light of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) action fining the firm $1 million for the failure to supervise its registered representatives in the San Antonio, Texas branch office. FINRA determined that the inadequate supervisory system in place allowed a broker to operate a $1 million Ponzi scheme out of a Merrill Lynch account he had opened in a fictitious name for nearly one year.
Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LLP has a team of attorneys, consultants and staff with more than 100 years of combined experience in the securities industry and in securities law. Since 1990, we have represented thousands of investors nationwide to recover losses. We have represented clients in Federal and State courts and in arbitration through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the New York Stock Exchange Inc. (NYSE), the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and in private arbitration actions. Collectively, we have represented over 1,000 investors over the last 20 years in negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation.