Fake account tied to former Fortrend Securities brokers receives regulatory attention

A barrage of emails from an account purporting to belong to former Fortrend Securities brokers is being scrutinised by regulators.

Fortrend Securities managing director Joe Forster.

The corporate regulator is investigating an email account masquerading as former Fortrend Securities brokers that has directed abuse at the two men as well as demanding information about potential investigations into the firm.

A number of emails have come from an email account purporting to be former Fortrend brokers Stephen Lyle and Christopher Wollermann in recent months. However, the two men deny they are the operators of the account.

The proton mail account, which misspells Mr Wollermann’s name, claims to represent Lyle and Wollerman (sic) Asset Management.

In recent months this account has contacted former clients of Fortrend as well as Mr Lyle and Mr Wollermann, lately demanding details on a potential regulatory probe into Fortrend and its boss, Joe Forster.

In one email, seen by The Australian, the operator of this ­account asks for details of an ­alleged complaint raised against Fortrend.

Stephen Lyle and Christopher Wollermann deny the email account is theirs.

The Australian understands several complaints have been raised against Fortrend and Mr Forster with US and Australian regulators, with some clients alleging their shares were sold without their permission when they attempted to leave the Melbourne-based brokerage.

US markets regulator FINRA and The Australian Securities and Investments Commission are looking into Fortrend.

Fortrend offers its clients ­access to US markets.

Mr Forster has previously denied he is the operator of the email account in Lyle Wollerman(sic)’s name.

However, a court has heard allegations Mr Forster pretended to be Mr Lyle and Mr Wollermann, in a number of emails, after they left Fortrend, as well as allegedly posing as Mr Wollermann in a phone call.

The Australian does not suggest Mr Forster is the operator of the account, only that its operator has sought to raise matters related to Fortrend.

However, The Australian understands ASIC is keeping a close eye on the account, with the regulator concerned its operator is seeking to represent it as the touch point for either Mr Lyle or Mr Wollermann.

Emails seen by The Australian show the Lyle and Wollerman(sic) Asset Management account has also directed several abusive messages at the two men.

This included an email sent to Mr Lyle titled “LGBT people in prison”.

Another email tells Lyle “Joe jumping mad crazy” warning “you should run back to America while you can”.

Both men are currently embroiled in litigation with Mr Forster and Fortrend.

In court on Wednesday, Fortrend’s lawyers flagged plans for the brokerage to amend claims against the former employees, who are alleged to have taken confidential information when they left the company. Fortrend alleges they used this confidential information to contact several clients, in a bid to get them to transfer their holdings to Shaw and Partners, which hired the brokers.

The brokerage claims Mr Lyle and Mr Wollermann caused Fortrend $28m in damages, after 43 clients fled the firm.

However, Fortrend received criticism after Mr Lyle and Mr Wollermann’s lawyers told the court the firm had repeatedly failed to produce any expert evidence in the lead-up to a trial between the two sides.

Judge David O’Callaghan gave Fortrend a 10-day extension to submit a report.

The court also was told Mr Lyle and Mr Wollermann had also raised several employment law breaches with Fortrend in response, claiming the firm breached Fair Work laws.

This includes claims Fortrend failed to pay Mr Wollermann $38,000 in commissions, as well as a further $136,000 in long service leave when he left the firm.

This was in addition to $46,800 in salary deductions from Mr Wollermann’s wage made by Fortrend, after Mr Forster told the broker he would deduct $500 from his pay each month to cover expenses.

Mr Lyle is also making a claim against Fortrend for $109,000 in long service leave that was allegedly not paid.

Mr Forster told The Australian “almost everything you said in your prior article was wrong”.