Ex-JPMorgan Broker Accused of Bilking Grandma Gets Trading Ban

By Tom Schoenberg
April 13, 2021, 4:44 PM EDT

Read the article on Bloomberg.com

Evan Schottenstein refused to comply with watchdog probe.

Adviser allegedly ripped off his wealthy grandma for fees.

A former JPMorgan Chase & Co. financial adviser accused of trading his wealthy grandmother’s assets without her knowledge has been barred from working as a broker by the industry’s watchdog, according to information on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s website.

Evan Schottenstein, without admitting or denying the findings, agreed to the sanction after Finra concluded he wasn’t complying with its investigation into whether he committed misconduct while managing about $80 million for Beverley Schottenstein when she was a client of JPMorgan for nearly five years.

He refused to provide on-the-record testimony to Finra investigators, according to an April 7 addition to his broker report.

Schottenstein and his younger brother Avi were dismissed from JPMorgan in 2019 after their grandmother accused them and the bank of putting her money in risky investments without her knowledge so they could charge high fees and commissions. She also said her name had been forged on financial documents. She brought an arbitration case against them seeking as much as $69 million in damages.

At 93, She Waged War on JPMorgan and Her Own Grandsons (and Won)

In February, an arbitration panel ruled in her favor, finding the brothers and the bank’s J.P. Morgan Securities LLC unit liable for abusing their fiduciary duty and making fraudulent misrepresentations. The arbitrators also found the bank and Evan Schottenstein liable for elder abuse.

It ordered JPMorgan and the bankers to pay Beverley Schottenstein about $19 million between them, representing damages, legal fees and the return of money invested in a private equity fund. Her grandsons are seeking to have the award vacated, Beverley Schottenstein said in an interview.

Finra’s enforcement arm, which has the authority to ban financial advisers, opened an investigation into the allegations.
“It was about time,” Beverley Schottenstein said. “That’s exactly what he deserved.”
A lawyer for Evan and Avi Schottenstein didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.