Investor Fraud Law Firm Meissner Associates Files Action Against T. Rowe Price for Failure to Protect 85-Year-Old Widow from a Million Dollar Cyber-Hack and "Pump and-Dump" Scheme

NEW YORK, Feb. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Nationwide investment fraud law firm Meissner Associates announces that it has filed a FINRA arbitration claim against T. ROWE PRICE INVESTMENT SERVICES, INC. on behalf of Loredana Marchitelli, an 85-year-old retired widow and senior citizen who lives in Elmhurst Queens, NY. The claim alleges that T. Rowe Price failed to detect and prevent a blatant account takeover and cyber-intrusion that resulted in the liquidation of the Claimant's blue-chip portfolio to fund a volatile "pump-and-dump" scheme.

The Statement of Claim alleges that on June 17, 2025, unauthorized bad actors gained access to Ms. Marchitelli's account. In less than one hour, the hackers liquidated the entirety of her $1.14 million stock account which held long-term, conservative holdings—including household names like Apple, Microsoft, Disney, and Nvidia—to then purchase 475,200 shares of a speculative Chinese microcap penny stock, Planet Green Holdings (Symbol: PLAG) , which volume notably spiked on such day to an all-time record 3.5 Million shares vs an average volume of  only 162,000.

According to the filing, T. Rowe Price's automated systems failed to trigger a single "red flag" or temporary hold, despite "impossible travel" IP login data showing access from California and Florida within minutes of each other, while the Claimant was at her home in New York. By the time the unauthorized trades were discovered and liquidated, the share price of the penny stock had plummeted, resulting in a direct loss of $708,552.59.

The Claim Alleges:

• Failure to Supervise: T. Rowe Price failed to maintain adequate identity theft prevention programs under Regulation S-ID and ignored clear patterns of "account takeover" fraud.
• Violation of Senior Protection Rules: The firm failed to adhere to FINRA Rule 2165, which provides safeguards for "Specified Adults" and allows firms to place temporary holds on accounts.
• Negligence and Gross Negligence: The firm permitted a radical shift from conservative blue-chip stocks to a 100% allocation in a Chinese microcap stock in a single afternoon without contacting the client or a Trusted Contact Person.
• Disregard for Industry Guidance: The firm allegedly ignored practices outlined in FINRA Regulatory Notice 21-18, which specifically encourages firms to have automated processes to specifically monitor for malicious actions by bad actors like monitoring for "impossible travel" and anomalous purchases of low-priced securities.
• Blaming their Client - Reneging on its own Account Protection Program: Despite marketing an "Account Protection Program"  to provide peace of mind to seniors, by promising to restore account losses due to unauthorized activity, the firm incredibly denied reimbursement based on unsubstantiated allegations that credentials were shared, effectively blaming the 85-year-old victim for the destruction of her own financial future.

Ms. Marchitelli is seeking compensatory damages of over 3.5 Million Dollars, including both economic and non-economic damages due to the severe emotional harm caused to Ms. Marchitelli by T. Rowe Price's compliance failures and its refusal to adhere to its own Account Protection Program, as well as seeking interest and punitive damages so as to deter future misconduct.

"After decades of careful planning, Ms. Marchitelli saw her financial security upended in less than an hour due to T. Rowe Price's failure to flag activity that any reasonable system should have stopped." said Stuart Meissner, Managing Member of Meissner Associates, continuing, "Instead of standing by their 'Account Protection Program' promises to their clients, the firm chose to point the finger at a grieving widow. We intend to hold them accountable for every dollar lost and the harm they caused our client."

In addition to the FINRA filing, Ms. Marchitelli is cooperating with the SEC in relation to the matter.

Any witnesses or individuals with information related to similar security failures at T. Rowe Price, (or other brokerage firms) are urged to contact Meissner Associates.

About Meissner Associates: Meissner Associates is a New York-based law firm concentrating in FINRA arbitrations, investor protection, SEC whistleblowing, and FINRA employment disputes. Managing Member Stuart Meissner is a former New York prosecutor of over a decade and has successfully represented investors for over 25 years.
www.smeissner.com

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SOURCE Meissner Associates