Shareholder Spotlight Bonus Edition #1 : Ameriprise Financial - The Home Of Scandal

Listen, when it comes to investigating Shareholder Scandals I’m somewhat a veteran. Some turn up little, and writing about them is a stretch. Sometimes I just don’t bother because they’re so clean-cut. But Ameriprise Financial? Christ, this outfit takes the piss. Born from the guts of American Express back in 2005, it’s ballooned into a behemoth with over a trillion quid in assets, peddling wealth management, insurance, and investments like some benevolent uncle. Bollocks. Scratch the surface, and you find a festering pit of supervisory cock-ups, outright thefts, and a blatant disregard for the punters whose retirement dreams they’re supposed to safeguard. It’s not just incompetence – it’s a systemic rot that reeks of unchecked avarice. And get this: amid all this dodgy dealings, they’ve got a hefty stake in Cummins Inc. (CMI), holding around 1.5 million shares as of mid-2025, worth hundreds of millions. That’s right, yet another company in the Cummins ecosystem that has alternative ideas on ethical behaviour, especially after Cummins got slapped with a record $1.675 billion fine in 2023 for cheating emissions tests on their diesel engines, screwing the environment and regulators alike. Bloody hell, it’s like these firms are in a race to the moral bottom.

The Theft Ring: When Your Advisors Turn Into Common Crooks

Picture this: you’re an elderly client, trusting your life savings to Ameriprise, thinking they’ve got your back. Instead, a pack of rogue reps – Barbara Stark, Susan Walker, Jeffrey Scott Davis, and others – are forging your signature on hundreds of forms, rerouting wires to their own pockets, and treating your nest egg like their personal slush fund. From 2011 to 2014, these bastards nicked over a million dollars across multiple clients, including family members. Stark and Walker alone pulled off 600 fraudulent transactions, some involving their own kin in the scam. And where was Ameriprise? Twiddling their thumbs, their so-called Fraud Early Detection System riddled with glitches that couldn’t spot a red flag if it was waving a sodding banner. Walker ended up with 88 months in the clink and a million-dollar fine; Davis got 54 months. Criminal charges, prison time – this isn’t some minor slip, it’s outright banditry enabled by a firm too lazy or too greedy to watch its own.

But wait, there’s more. Jennifer Guelinas, another shining example, siphoned off 790 grand from two clients between 2010 and 2013, forging wire requests like it was her day job. Ameriprise processed the lot, ignoring blatant mismatches in signatures and even dishing out funds after they’d sacked her. She got banned for life, but the real outrage? This was no isolated incident. Another unnamed rep pinched 370k from five accounts – again, family included – practising forgery and funnelling cash to personal businesses, all while Ameriprise snoozed through the alarms. Fines flew: 750k in 2013, 850k in 2016, and a whopping 4.5 million from the SEC in 2018 for failing to protect assets. They reimbursed the victims, sure, but only after the regulators dragged them kicking and screaming. It’s infuriating – these aren’t faceless corporations getting hit; it’s real people, vulnerable folks, getting shafted.

Overcharging the Vulnerable: Retirement Rip-Offs and Fee Gouging

Now, let’s talk about the subtler thievery, the kind that hides behind fine print and fiduciary bullshit. From 2013 to 2018, Ameriprise flogged higher-fee mutual fund shares to nearly 1,800 retirement accounts, ignoring cheaper options or waivers that could’ve saved punters 1.7 million quid in unnecessary charges. Why? Because it fattened their commissions, of course. Retirement savers – the backbone of the middle class – got stung for the firm’s profit margins. The SEC censured them and slapped on a 230k penalty, with 1.8 million in restitution. But that’s pocket change for a trillion-dollar outfit.

Fast-forward to 2024, and they’re at it again with a class action lawsuit over their cash sweep programme. Clients’ uninvested cash earns a pathetic 0.0 to 0.3 percent interest, while Ameriprise pockets billions in spreads. Potential losses? Over two billion for millions of accounts. It’s a fiduciary breach on steroids, and the suit’s still grinding through the courts, with Ameriprise fighting tooth and nail for dismissals. Outrageous, isn’t it? They market themselves as client-first, but it’s all smoke and mirrors, designed to bleed you dry while you dream of a comfy old age.

The Annuity Switcheroo: Churning for Commissions

Annuities – those complex beasts that promise security but often deliver headaches. In 2022, an Ameriprise subsidiary incentivised reps to switch clients’ variable annuities, racking up fresh commissions at the expense of suitability. Clients faced extra fees and potential tax hits for no good reason. Echoes of the 2000s mutual fund scandals, where greed trumped advice. The SEC fined them five million, but the damage to trust? Priceless, and irreparable.

Then there’s the ongoing lawsuit from John R. Marshall, filed in 2024 over 800k in unsuitable variable annuities sold between 2009 and 2012. Allegations of fraud, misrepresentation, negligence – the full monty. He’s demanding a jury trial, and who can blame him? These products are often shoved down throats for the kickbacks, not the benefits.

Off-Channel Shenanigans and Data Thefts: Privacy Be Damned

In the digital age, you’d think a firm like Ameriprise would have their comms locked down. Nope. In 2024, they copped a 50 million penalty for off-channel messaging failures – advisors using texts and WhatsApp without proper records, violating SEC rules in a massive industry sweep. It’s not just sloppy; it opens doors to undetected dodginess, especially post-COVID when everything went remote.

Worse, the advisor data thefts. Matthew Daugherty got hit with a 383k order for nicking client data – including social security numbers – to jump ship and start his own gig. Separate battles with LPL over ex-advisors printing thousands of client docs and pre-soliciting. Injunctions, arbitrations, forensic reviews – it’s a messy brawl over privacy breaches that could’ve exposed countless punters to identity theft.

Historical Hangovers: Mutual Funds and REITs Gone Wrong

Don’t think this is new. Back in 2005, a 12.3 million FINRA fine for anti-reciprocal violations – preferential treatment for mutual funds from 2001 to 2003. Then, in 2009, 17.3 million to the SEC for undisclosed REIT compensation and biased advice, complete with mislabelled invoices. Part of the broader mutual fund scandal wave that rocked the industry, but Ameriprise was right in the thick of it, prioritising kickbacks over clients.

The Bigger Picture: A Pattern of Rot

With 183 FINRA disclosures – 79 regulatory, 103 arbitrations – Ameriprise’s rap sheet reads like a criminal dossier: unsuitable recommendations, fraud, supervision lapses. X posts from punters scream frustration, one even calling it “theft” of savings. They bang on about fiduciary duty and ESG creds as a UN PRI signatory, but it’s lip service. Their funds dip into fossil fuels and controversial sectors, and tying into Cummins – that emissions-cheating juggernaut – just underlines the hypocrisy. Cummins’ 1.675 billion settlement for defeat devices? That’s not innovation; it’s criminal corner-cutting, and Ameriprise’s investment says they don’t give a toss.

In the end, Ameriprise isn’t unique – finance is riddled with this crap. But that doesn’t excuse it. They’ve paid out over 50 million in fines, reimbursed victims, and promised reforms, yet the pattern persists. If you’re parked with them, ask yourself: is this the guardian of your future, or just another shark in the tank? Bloody wake up.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

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Shareholder Spotlight Bonus Edition #1 : Ameriprise Financial – The Home Of Scandal