A former longtime broker with Triad Advisors, which was acquired by what is now Osaic in 2020, is costing his former firm millions of dollars in legal settlements. The settlements stem from clients' lawsuits regarding illiquid investments that have not performed and were allegedly not appropriate. The latest settlement this summer was for $9.75 million.
Jim Walesa, the broker at the center of the clients’ complaint, was sued last month by industry regulator FINRA, the first step in his eventually being barred from the securities industry.
Walesa worked in the securities industry for 39 years before leaving in 2021. He then became CEO of a senior care technology company, Clearday.
He was registered at Triad Advisors from 2000 to 2019 and then Arkadios Capital for two years before leaving the industry. He was based in Park Ridge, Ill.
According to Walesa’s BrokerCheck profile, the customers’ complaint was settled with the firm in July and was almost twice the amount investors had originally sued the firm for: $5 million. It often takes a month or longer for such settlements to become public record on FINRA’s BrokerCheck system.
A spokesperson for Osaic declined to comment about the $9.75 million settlement involving Walesa.
“We are pleased to reach a resolution in this case,” said Adam Gana, the attorney who represented more than 50 groups of investors in the lawsuit. “Mr. Walesa made some very, very problematic decisions while employed at Triad.”
“The settlement details are confidential,” Gana said. “But there are many more Walesa cases out there. This is not the end of it.”
The Triad customers’ lawsuit was filed in December 2023 and claimed the product in question was a real estate security.
InvestmentNews reported in January 2024 that Walesa allegedly sold clients illiquid alternative investments, including real estate deals, that he also managed, owned or directed. In other words, he was allegedly both the salesperson and the product sponsor to some clients.
“It is alleged that the financial professional was involved in unsuitable recommendations for investment in businesses for which he also served in positions of ownership, operation or discretion,” according to Walesa’s BrokerCheck profile, regarding the allegations in the $9.75 million settlement.
Osaic, via its ownership of Triad Advisors, which has been closed as part of a firm-wide integration, has now paid $17.2 million to settle claims involving former clients of Walesa, according to his BrokerCheck report.
And Osaic may potentially be on the hook for millions more in settlement money. One investor lawsuits involving Walesa is seeking $34 million in damages, according to his BrokerCheck profile.
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