By CB Online Staff

Puerto Rican boxing legend Félix “Tito” Trinidad is seeking breathing room from creditors as he pursues a complaint against a longtime financial adviser who he claims lost more than $60 million primarily through risky investments tied to Puerto Rico government bonds.

Trinidad and father filed a legal recourse in San Juan Superior Court on Thursday pegging the former champ’s net worth at $9 million and claiming three times that amount in debt. He grossed an estimated $86 million during his stellar career in the ring that saw the three-time world champ become a fan favorite because of his big-punching style and devastating left hook.

The injunction request, which seeks to block Popular Inc. from collecting on a $2.5 million debt, included a copy of a case Trinidad has filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority claiming that financial adviser José “Pepe” Ramos made the risky investments without his knowledge or consent.

Ramos quickly denied any wrongdoing during more than a dozen years helping Trinidad handle his boxing fortune, years in which the two became close friends.

The FINRA filing says Ramos put nearly all of Trinidad’s money into various portfolios pegged to Puerto Rico’s bonds, which have taken a big hit amid the island’s fiscal and economic crisis.

Trinidad said in the FINRA complaint that Ramos worked for range of financial firms including Wells Fargo Advisors, UBS and Popular Securities, claiming that the jobs stemmed in part from his ties to the boxer.

Ramos issued a statement Friday defending his work with the family over 14 years and rejecting Trinidad’s claims.

“I appreciate the support of my clients who know that I have been ethical and upstanding throughout my career and have never had a legal problem like I’m facing now,” Ramos said.

“I can’t say much more at the moment other than to stress that the accusations by the Trinidad family are false and the truth will come out when this case is aired in the pertinent forum.”

Trinidad also commented on the situation on Friday.

“I just want people to know that this is a very difficult situation and we will be discussing it in the pertinent forums,” Trinidad said in a statement. “I appreciate the calls for support and concern from everyone: the press, friends, family and my people.”

Trinidad said in his FINRA filing that the bulk of the losses came between 2000 and 2007, when Ramos started working with UBS Financial.

The boxer was extended a credit line while most of his money was put in closed-end bond funds. That limited Trinidad’s liquidity because the market for the funds was largely limited to other wealthy investors, the Trinidad family claims.

The filing notes that the investment documents and the bulk of his financial statements were in English, a language in which Trinidad is not fluent. His father and fight manager, Juan Trinidad Rodríguez, never finished high school.

Ramos, in fact, served as an interpreter for Trinidad during public appearance in the U.S., both inside and outside the ring.

Despite his money woes, Trinidad is poised to take his place in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

The hard-hitting San Juan native will join two of his contemporaries in the modern era — Oscar “Golden Boy” De La Hoya — on stage June 8 at the induction ceremony in Canastota, N.Y.

Trained by his father, Trinidad began boxing at age 10 in his native Puerto Rico and became one of its most accomplished fighters, posting a 51-6 amateur record before turning pro. He stopped Maurice Blocker in two rounds to capture the IBF welterweight crown in his 20th pro bout and defended his title 15 times, one of those a controversial 12-round majority decision over De La Hoya.

Trinidad moved up in weight to win the WBA light middleweight title from David Reid in March 2000 and later that year unified titles with a 12th-round knockout against IBF champ Fernando Vargas. In 2001, he became a three-division champion with a fifth-round knockout of William Joppy for the WBA middleweight title.

Popular Securities clarifies its role in case

Popular Securities President Juan Guerrero clarified Friday that Popular Securities doesn’t offer loans or credit lines for investors to buy into closed-end funds in Puerto Rico.

Guerrero also said Popular Securities does not allow its financial advisers or brokers to undertake transactions without client consent.

“Claims otherwise will be shown to be wrong in the corresponding forum, but we want to make clear that Popular Securities never loans money to invest in closed-end funds,” he said.

Guerrero wouldn’t go into details on Trinidad’s debt beyond saying that it involved a loan from Banco Popular, not a credit line for investment.

Closed-end funds prompt flood of filings

Multiple lawsuits have been filed against market leader UBS and other brokerage firms after a downturn in the value of Puerto Rico government bonds last year resulted in big losses for local investors, many of whom hold closed-end mutual funds that invest heavily in Puerto Rico government bonds. The losses were magnified because the closed-end mutual funds employed leverage, or borrowed funding, which financial experts say magnifies the risks and potential losses. Local investments in Puerto Rico bonds and securities fell by about $3.7 billion last year, according to the Financial Institutions Commissioner’s Office.

A flood of claims by investors in closed-end Puerto Rico bond funds has caused a logjam at the FINRA, prompting the Wall Street funded watchdog to place an administrative stay last month on all such cases that had yet to be assigned to an arbitration panel as it worked to address a shortage of arbitrators.

Some investors who suffered losses on investments in UBS Puerto Rico claim they were pushed into too risky investments and had too much of their money invested in similar types of investments.

FINRA acknowledged it was scrambling to tap enough arbitrators. More than 160 cases tied to Puerto Rico bond funds have been filed by investors, and FINRA says that number could top 500.

Attorneys for investors, including many based in Florida working with local law firms in Puerto Rico, say the stay imposed by FINRA poses a challenge, particularly for elderly clients.

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