A local financial advisor says he has no beef with his former employer for firing him for not keeping his personal finances up to the firm’s standards.
But Matthew Whitaker claims in a recently filed lawsuit that, after firing him in July, Wells Fargo Advisors had no right to bad-mouth him in a regulatory filing, which then scared another firm into rescinding a lucrative job offer. [private]
Now Whitaker has sued Wells Fargo Advisors for defamation, interference and $800,000 in damages for acts that he alleges were done intentionally to prevent him from landing a new job.
“Fundamentally we do feel like for some reason Wells Fargo took actions that really damaged Matt,” said David Simonsen, Whitaker’s attorney. “I have to assume they have an explanation. But I don’t know what it will be.”
Three days after leaving Wells Fargo, Whitaker got a job offer from Davenport & Co.
Whitaker’s chance for the new gig came despite Wells Fargo Advisors reporting to an industry regulator why he was let go, citing “violation of firm policies and procedures: failure to manage personal finances – associates must not abuse checking account privileges.”
This initial filing didn’t scare Davenport away from courting Whitaker, who has been in the industry for 16 years.
But according to the suit, Wells Fargo added an amendment to the filing, writing “Associate [Whitaker] systematically deposited nonsufficient funds checks between two banks.”
That single sentence, Whitaker claims, was unnecessary and added specifically to hurt his chances of being hired by Davenport.
“When I read that [added sentence] it can be interpreted as systematically writing bad checks,” Simonsen said.
Whitaker, who graduated from Hampden-Sydney and received his MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University, nevertheless has landed on his feet. He’s now a vice president at Anderson Strudwick. The firm hired him, according to a November news release, for his high standards of integrity and customer service.
The amendment to the disciplinary filing was made the same day that Whitaker accepted the new job with Davenport.
“Davenport knew the story,” Simonsen said. “Right at the same time he’s accepting this offer, Wells Fargo comes out with this revised [filing] adding the language.”
The suit alleges that Wells Fargo had no business reason to file the amended discipline report except to quash Whitaker’s job prospects.
Whitaker and his attorney also said Wells Fargo’s phrasing was inflammatory and imprecise. In its filing, Wells Fargo labeled the personal financial issues as “violating investment-related statutes.”
Whitaker says that’s false. He had not been accused of violating any investment-related standard, he said — he just had some personal financial problems.
Tony Mattera, a spokesman for Wells Fargo Advisors, said the company does not comment publicly on litigation.
Whitaker doesn’t dispute being fired or mishandling his own finances. Nor does he blame Davenport for retracting its offer, Simonsen said. Whitaker and his wife filed bankruptcy in 2008, according to his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority record.
But Whitaker alleges defamation that caused a host of negative consequences, including humiliation, mental suffering, injury to reputation and lost income. He’s asked for a jury trial to sort things out.
Plus his new job with Anderson Strudwick isn’t as lucrative as what Davenport offered.
“It really damaged him, losing that offer from Davenport and the way it happened,” Simonsen said. “He did not get the same kind of deal that Davenport immediately offered him.”
Davenport’s offer included a monthly salary of $10,000 for the first four months and a signing bonus in the form of a $200,000 loan that was to be forgiven after he spent five years with the firm.
Davenport did not respond to a call for comment.
There’s also the issue of having to explain the filing that is now stuck in his professional record with FINRA.
Simonsen said winning the suit could at least give Whitaker ground to stand on when he might have to explain the issue in the future. But even if Wells Fargo is found to be at fault, getting FINRA to change an advisor’s record is no easy task, Simonsen said.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter and covers the financial services industry. Please send news tips to [email protected]. [/private]
A local financial advisor says he has no beef with his former employer for firing him for not keeping his personal finances up to the firm’s standards.
But Matthew Whitaker claims in a recently filed lawsuit that, after firing him in July, Wells Fargo Advisors had no right to bad-mouth him in a regulatory filing, which then scared another firm into rescinding a lucrative job offer. [private]
Now Whitaker has sued Wells Fargo Advisors for defamation, interference and $800,000 in damages for acts that he alleges were done intentionally to prevent him from landing a new job.
“Fundamentally we do feel like for some reason Wells Fargo took actions that really damaged Matt,” said David Simonsen, Whitaker’s attorney. “I have to assume they have an explanation. But I don’t know what it will be.”
Three days after leaving Wells Fargo, Whitaker got a job offer from Davenport & Co.
Whitaker’s chance for the new gig came despite Wells Fargo Advisors reporting to an industry regulator why he was let go, citing “violation of firm policies and procedures: failure to manage personal finances – associates must not abuse checking account privileges.”
This initial filing didn’t scare Davenport away from courting Whitaker, who has been in the industry for 16 years.
But according to the suit, Wells Fargo added an amendment to the filing, writing “Associate [Whitaker] systematically deposited nonsufficient funds checks between two banks.”
That single sentence, Whitaker claims, was unnecessary and added specifically to hurt his chances of being hired by Davenport.
“When I read that [added sentence] it can be interpreted as systematically writing bad checks,” Simonsen said.
Whitaker, who graduated from Hampden-Sydney and received his MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University, nevertheless has landed on his feet. He’s now a vice president at Anderson Strudwick. The firm hired him, according to a November news release, for his high standards of integrity and customer service.
The amendment to the disciplinary filing was made the same day that Whitaker accepted the new job with Davenport.
“Davenport knew the story,” Simonsen said. “Right at the same time he’s accepting this offer, Wells Fargo comes out with this revised [filing] adding the language.”
The suit alleges that Wells Fargo had no business reason to file the amended discipline report except to quash Whitaker’s job prospects.
Whitaker and his attorney also said Wells Fargo’s phrasing was inflammatory and imprecise. In its filing, Wells Fargo labeled the personal financial issues as “violating investment-related statutes.”
Whitaker says that’s false. He had not been accused of violating any investment-related standard, he said — he just had some personal financial problems.
Tony Mattera, a spokesman for Wells Fargo Advisors, said the company does not comment publicly on litigation.
Whitaker doesn’t dispute being fired or mishandling his own finances. Nor does he blame Davenport for retracting its offer, Simonsen said. Whitaker and his wife filed bankruptcy in 2008, according to his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority record.
But Whitaker alleges defamation that caused a host of negative consequences, including humiliation, mental suffering, injury to reputation and lost income. He’s asked for a jury trial to sort things out.
Plus his new job with Anderson Strudwick isn’t as lucrative as what Davenport offered.
“It really damaged him, losing that offer from Davenport and the way it happened,” Simonsen said. “He did not get the same kind of deal that Davenport immediately offered him.”
Davenport’s offer included a monthly salary of $10,000 for the first four months and a signing bonus in the form of a $200,000 loan that was to be forgiven after he spent five years with the firm.
Davenport did not respond to a call for comment.
There’s also the issue of having to explain the filing that is now stuck in his professional record with FINRA.
Simonsen said winning the suit could at least give Whitaker ground to stand on when he might have to explain the issue in the future. But even if Wells Fargo is found to be at fault, getting FINRA to change an advisor’s record is no easy task, Simonsen said.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter and covers the financial services industry. Please send news tips to [email protected]. [/private]
defamation of character is nothing to make a small thing of. it can mean the end of someone’s career, depending on the degree.
For the record, I never spoke with this reporter before he wrote this story. There are a number of times that he writes “Whitaker says”, etc., but I never spoke with him . There are a number of items that I dispute.
Matt Whitaker