Value City
17 February 2021
The matriarch of the billionaire Schottenstein family, Beverley B. Schottenstein, filed an arbitration suit against her two grandsons, Avi and Evan Schottenstein, who were both financial advisers at JP Morgan, alleging that they made unauthorized purchases of securities in her account and, without her consent, enrolled her in the electronic delivery of her account statements/communications. For those transgressions, Beverly sought over $10 million in damages from Avi, Evan, and JP Morgan.
Beverly Schottenstein alleged that her grandsons made risky investments worth more than $72 million, which led to losses of more than $10 million, but the men and JP Morgan made hundreds of thousands in fees.
It was alleged that her grandsons forged emails in her name in order to get certain trades approved, and later encouraged her to destroy paperwork involving her JP Morgan transactions.
In its ruling, FINRA arbitrators found Schottenstein’s grandsons, Evan and Avi Schottenstein, as well as JP Morgan, liable for fraud and abuse of fiduciary duty. The Schottenstein men were also found liable for elder abuse in the eyes of Florida law. Financial Industry Regulatory Agency, or FINRA, is a non-governmental organization that enforces rules and settles disputes involving stock broker-dealers.
According to the FINRA filings, Evan and Avi Schottenstein began managed their grandmother’s money for several years. First Evan managed the funds with Morgan Stanley in 2009, then both when they began working for JP Morgan in 2014.
Beverly Schottenstein’s family fortune came from a string of retail chains, including Value City, DSW, American Eagle Outfitters and American Signature Furniture.
Tampa Nay Times reported.
