Demand TD Ameritrade return money they stole from individual investor's account.

Dear Mr. Fredric Tomczyk

Laurent La Brie was a small investor. He had executed a trade through TDA which earned him a profit of $14,738.50. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, TDA’s traders took the opposite side of that trade, meaning TDA had to pay Mr. La Brie the $14,738.50. Rather than pay Mr. La Brie his profit, TDA manufactured a reason to dishonor and “reverse” the trade. When Mr. La Brie complained, TDA adopted “a scorched earth” approach to defend what we believe was its dishonest and fraudulent action in reversing and dishonoring the trade.

TDA’s dishonest action flowed from the following facts which we believe Mr. La Brie proved at the FINRA arbitration proceeding. Mr. La Brie purchased a right to “Put” or sell certain shares of stock at a set price (the “Strike Price”) on January 16, 2009 (the “Option Expiration Date”). TDA took the opposite side of that trade, thereby, betting against its customer, Mr. La Brie. That is, TDA agreed to buy Mr. La Brie’s shares on the Option Expiration Date for the Strike Price. The stock price moved in favor of Mr. La Brie, and on the Option Expiration Date, Mr. La Brie could buy shares in the open market for much less than the Strike Price, which was the amount TDA had agreed to pay Mr. La Brie for those shares on the Option Expiration Date. Hence, Mr. La Brie, at TDA’s expense, had made a profit on his investment.¹

TDA looked for a way out of that expense and a way to “reverse” its unprofitable trade. The excuse TDA used for not honoring the trade was a technical one. Specifically, TDA said that a Government agency, the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”), regulated the trade and they had issued a bulletin that said Mr. La Brie had to specifically call TDA and tell them to execute the trade. The bulletin actually put the responsibility on TDA to call Mr. La Brie. 

Mr. La Brie offered the following evidence on this issue. TDA and its clearing company, TD Clearing, which its parent corporation wholly owned and controlled (making it under “common control”), issued written confirmations that the trades went through and these were offered into evidence at the FINRA hearing. TDA provided Mr. La Brie with multiple account statements over many months showing the trades went through and these statements were offered into evidence. The executives and employees at TDA and its affiliates communicated in writing that the trades went through but were later “reversed” and these written communications were offered into evidence. TDA verbally confirmed that the trade would execute, as evidenced by tape recorded conversations, which were offered into evidence. The only evidence that TDA offered at the FINRA hearing that the trade did not execute was the testimony from Ty Buss, TDA’s only witness. Ty Buss testified that an employee at TD Clearing named Liz Miller had told him in March 2009 that the trade did not execute.