Ameriprise accused of forgery

According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), "The New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation filed an administrative complaint against Ameriprise Financial Inc., accusing the company of forgery, document tampering, and of failing to deliver nearly 500 financial plans to customers that paid for them."

The bureau is seeking a $10 million fine. The company denies the allegations, saying that the bureau's characterization of the issue as a "broad-based compliance issue" is unfair. New Hampshire accuses the company of forging clients signatures to make it appear that they had received the detailed personal financial plans in book form that the company had promised them.

Shares of Ameriprise Financial (NYSE: AMP) were up more than 3% today, as investors in the $15.4 billion company shrugged off the possibility of a $10 million fine.

But the cost to the company's reputation could be more important. In addition to The Wall Street Journal story, numerous other outlets have picked up the story. Anyone who happens to have read it, which is bound to be hundreds of thousands of people, will likely think twice before working with the company.