Finra panel awards five UBS clients $521,000 in damages over Puerto Rican bonds

Puerto Rican residents charged the firm with fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.

An all-public arbitration panel of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. has awarded five clients of UBS Financial Services more than $521,000 in compensatory damages in a case related to the clients’ investments in Puerto Rican bonds and closed-end bond funds.

The clients, all residents of Puerto Rico, claimed UBS violated the Puerto Rico Uniform Securities Act and engaged in securities fraud, common law fraud and constructive fraud, in addition to breaching its fiduciary duty and negligently supervising its personnel.

The clients originally asked for compensatory damages in the amount of $840,000 plus punitive damages, interest, costs, expert witness fees, Finra fees and attorneys’ fees. All were denied by the panel.

Compensatory damages in the following amounts were awarded to the following clients: Hector E. Rodriguez-Lopez, $87,411; Myrna L. Rivera Marengo, $19,221; Angel M. Cruz Colon and Carmen Ortiz Nevarez, $181,989, as well as an additional $5,056 to Ms. Ortiz Nevarez; William Rodriguez Reyes and Betzaida Hernandez, $223,814, plus $3,575 to Ms. Hernandez.

(More: Hurricanes that ravaged Puerto Rico also wreck its bonds)