Around July 2008, Claimants, a couple from Arkansas nearing retirement, received a cold call from Mr. Alijaj—a broker with Respondent JHS. (A cold call is the solicitation of potential customers who were not anticipating such an interaction. Cold calling is a technique whereby a salesperson contacts individuals who have not previously expressed an interest in the products or services that are being offered). Mr. Alijaj aggressively pursued the Claimants’ business, promising them that he would preserve their retirement capital while providing them with increased returns.
Mr. Alijaj allegedly persuaded Claimants to give him approximately $250,000, which they believed was being safely and practically invested to accommodate their needs. Instead, Mr. Alijaj put all of Claimants’ funds into just three extremely thinly traded and highly volatile stocks. The three stocks were A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd. (“APWR”), Silicon Motion Technology Corp (“SIMO”), and Yingli Green Energy Holdings Co. (“YGE”). By January 2009, only five months after Mr. Alijaj made the purchases, APWR, SIMO, and YGE were each down 81%, 66%, and 59% respectively. At no point during this five-month freefall did Mr. Alijaj adjust the Claimants’ accounts or even communicate to them an explanation for the price depreciation or potential remedial action.
The Claimants’ alleged that due to Mr. Alijaj’s use of excessive margin in implementing his inappropriate investment strategy, Claimants faced margin calls in January 2009 and were forced to liquidate their portfolio. In doing so, they realized losses of over $206,000—virtually their entire investment in less than five months. According to the complaint, after recklessly and carelessly causing the Claimants to lose nearly all of their investment, Mr. Alijaj abandoned their accounts and Claimants never heard from him again.
This is not the first time that it has been alleged that Mr. Alijaj has inappropriately taken advantage of innocent investors. The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are experienced in investigating claims concerning securities investments with Mr. Alijaj and other financial advisors who have inappropriately invested their clients’ money. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.