The Securities Law Firm of Klayman & Toskes Continues Its Investigation of Rhonda Breard and ING Financial Partners

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March 6, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Securities Law Firm of Klayman & Toskes, P.A. ("K&T") (http://www.nasd-law.com) announced today that it is continuing to investigate potential claims against ING Financial Partners (NYSE: ING) on behalf of former customers of Rhonda Breard ("Breard") and Breard & Associates Wealth Management. K&T has received numerous inquiries from victims of Breard, who no longer have access to their money. It is estimated that about $7 million has been reported missing by Breard's former customers. Under NASD Rules, ING Financial Partners was obligated to properly supervise the practices and activities of Breard during the time that she was registered with the firm. Accordingly, ING Financial Partners may be liable for failing to supervise Breard's activities and responsible for compensating investors who lost money investing with Breard. Breard had been registered with ING Financial Partners since February of 2002.

Breard was a licensed broker in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. She built her career on targeting wealthy clients. Now, some of those clients have reported that they have lost everything. Clients of Breard say that they received statements in the mail which showed that the money they invested with her had been deposited into an ING account. However, it appears that some of those documents may have been falsified or altered in some way.

A review of Breard's securities license reveals a history of several customer complaints as well as regulatory actions, dating back to the early 1990s. These include a censure, fine and suspension by the NASD, as well as several customer complaints regarding the sale of private placements, failure to follow instructions and unauthorized trading. These are all potential "red flags" under the law which should have raised the awareness level of ING and/or caused ING to place Breard under some type of heightened supervision. K&T is continuing to investigate how often ING reviewed Breard's activities, and whether those reviews were adequate to detect potentially fraudulent conduct.

As such, K&T plans to assist victims of Breard and ING Financial Partners in securities arbitration claims before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). K&T strongly encourages customers who held accounts with Rhonda Breard and/or Breard & Associates Wealth Management to contact Steven D. Toskes, Esquire, or Jahan K. Manasseh, Esquire, toll-free at 888-997-9956, to discuss their legal options and/or the possibility of pursuing an individual securities arbitration claim against ING Financial Partners and/or Breard. You may also visit us on the web at http://www.nasd-law.com.