Report: Claims Against Marion Broker Dismissed

Three claims against a Marion-based brokerage firm have been dismissed by an arbitration panel, according to a report.

AdvisorOne is reporting that in Marion had claims filed by three accredited investors. On April 9, arbitration panel FINRA dismissed the claims after five weeks of proceedings that began in August but stretched out for several months, according to the report.

The claims were "filed in connection with the purchase of tenancy in common interests that investors who filed the claims alleged were valueless because they were 'a massive fraudulent investment scheme managed by” the respondents in the case,'" according to the report. 

Ameriprise Financial Services was also named.

"The investors sought the rescission of their investments and return of their money," AdvisorOne reported.

The case involved an office building in Eden Prairie, MN, which lost value during the recession, according to the report.

“We believe, and I believe SEC and FINRA believe, that tenant in common securities are securities under the Act [the Securities Act of 1933]," Rick Murphy, president of Berthel Fisher, said in the report. "But it is direct ownership of real estate.” He added that the company believed Berthel Fisher complied with requirements for due diligence regarding such securities, both as required by FINRA and under the Act, “and the arbitration panel obviously felt we had done so as well.”