Gana LLP Investigates Richard Martin Formerly of G.F. Investment Services, LLC

Gana Weinstein LLP, a nationally renowned securities and investment arbitration firm, is investigating Richard Martin, and his from firm G.F. Investment Services, LLC for making unsuitable investments to their customers. According FINRA’s BrokerCheck, Mr. Martin has 8 customer complaints served against him and/or his former firms concerning his activities.  According to FINRA, four of the eight complaints have been settled. The first settled complaint was filed in 2006. The customer sued Global Strategic Investment, LLC, Mr. Martin’s employing firm at the time. The case settled less than one mouth after filing. The customer alleged that Mr. Martin and Global Strategic Investments failed to disclose mark-ups on bond purchases.

In 2009, another of Mr. Martin’s customers brought a case against Global Strategic Investments for alleging claims of unsuitable investments, churning, and negligence. That case settled for $8,000.  In 2011, another customer of Mr. Martin brought a claim against his firm, GF Investment Services. The complaint alleged that her account was unsuitable and the case settled for $40,000. Another claim was brought against G.F. Investment Services and Latam Investment. The claim again was for the sale of unsuitable investments. The case settled for $127,500 before arbitration was commenced.

Three additional claims were brought by customers and closed with no action.  Currently, there is one claim pending against G.F. Investment Services by Mr. Martin’s customer. The claim is for $500,000 in damages. The customer alleged unsuitable investments in relation to short sales and risky ETFs.

ETFs are  highly speculative investments. ETFs contain a portfolio of shares that track market indexes like the Dow Jones or the S&P 500, or they may instead follow only a particular segment of the market.

In addition, to all of the customer complaints listed above, on April 22, 2014, FINRA started investigating Mr. Martin to determine if he violated federal securities laws (FINRA Examination Number 20130358177).  If that was not enough, on July 16, 2009, Mr. Martin was terminated from his most recent employer for stealing a painting that belonged to the CEO of Latam Investments.  Apparently, Latam Investments was able to positively identify Martin from its video recording. In response, Mr. Martin stated that he only “borrowed” the painting.

If you or someone you know has lost money investing with Richard Martin while he was employed at Global Strategic Investments, LLC, G.F. Investment Services, LLC, or Latam Investments, LLC, you should contact us immediately. Our attorneys are trained to forensically analyze account statements to determine if there was any misconduct in your accounts.  All claims will be brought through FINRA arbitration and are brought on a contingency basis – which means you do not pay attorneys’ fees unless we recover money for you.

The securities fraud attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are experienced in handling these cases. Our attorneys have served as lead counsel in over 500 securities arbitrations that have either settled or have been taken to verdict. Gana Weinstein LLP has recovered millions of dollars on behalf of our clients nationwide. You can reach our managing partner directly by email at agana@ganallp.com or call us at 212-776-4251.