Securities Lawyers Blog

Investor Recovery Options for LinnCO LLC (LNCO) Losses

December 31, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP continue to report on investor related losses and potential legal remedies due to unsuitable recommendations to investor in oil and gas and commodities related investments. LinnCO LLC (Ticker Symbol: LNCO) is a Master Limited Partnership (MLP). LinnCO has declined 91.7% in value from its 52-week high and is trading at only $1.21 a share. LinnCO business focuses in the oil and gas production sector.

About 86% of the total MLP securities market, a $490 billion sector, can be attributed to energy and natural resource companies. While MLPs have the same liquid trading characteristics as common stocks they are very different from typical stock investments. For instance, MLP’s are pass through investment vehicles, that is they pass through the income to the investor without any company level taxation. In addition, while there is no set payout level required to be adhered to by the company, unlike real estate investment trusts (REITs), MLP’s must derive 90% of their revenues from natural resources activities. However, most MLP’s do pay out most of their earnings through distributions causing company growth to come through the issuance of more debt and shares.

However, brokers that have recommended MLPs to investors may have made unsuitable recommendations based upon the yields of these investments rather than the risk to principal. Over the past year MLPs have been hammered due to weaknesses in oil and gas and commodities markets.

SEC Files Complaint Against Former Edward Jones Broker Bernard Parker For Stealing Client Funds

December 31, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The investment lawyers of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating customer complaints against broker Bernard Parker (Parker). The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced fraud charges against Parker, a former broker with Edward Jones through his DBA Parker Financial Services located in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Parker has been accused of raising at least $1.2 million of investor money that was in reality used to remodel his house and pay other bills among other uses.

The SEC alleged that Parker raised more than $1.2 million from his brokerage customers and others who Parker told were purchasing real estate tax lien certificates that would earn returns of 6-9% annually. Specifically, Parker told prospective investors that Parker Financial Services would use funds to purchase tax liens placed by municipalities on properties primarily in Florida, Arizona, and Colorado. However, the SEC found that Parker pooled the money he raised into several bank accounts and routinely deposited only a portion of the money into a bank account and took the remainder in cash for himself.

The SEC alleged that Parker only used a small amount of investor funds to purchase tax liens and instead used their money to remodel his home, make car payments, and pay bills for his father-in-law. For instance, according to the SEC Parker withdrew more than $650,000 in investor funds in cash from teller transactions, ATM withdrawals, and checks. Parker additionally spent approximately $197,000 of investor money in other transactions, $150,000 through personal checks, and $169,000 for online bill payments. In total Parker made approximately $188,000 in interest payments to earlier investors in an effort to keep his investment scheme from being discovered.

Recovery Options For Investors of Zachary Bader’s Churning and Unsuitable VIX Trading

December 30, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The securities fraud attorneys of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating potential recovery options for investors with broker Zachary Bader (Bader). Recently The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) brought an enforcement action (FINRA No. 20130363873) which resulted in a permanent bar form the securities industry. The complaint alleged that from February 2012 through July 2013, Bader engaged in excessive trading (churning) in three customer accounts with a reckless disregard for the interests of those customers. FINRA also alleged that from March 2012 through January 2013, Bader made unsuitable recommendations of a complex Exchange Traded Note (ETN), the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN (VXX) to 21 customers without a reasonable basis to believe that the ETN was suitable for at least some investors.

Bader entered the securities industry in 2011 with brokerage firm Brookstone Securities, Inc. From February 2012 until August 2013, Bader was associated with Craig Scott Capital, LLC. Thereafter, from August 2013 until August 2013, Bader was associated with National Securities Corporation out of the firm’s Melville, New York office location.

As a background, when brokers engage in churning the broker will typical trade in and out of securities, sometimes even the same stock, many times over a short period of time. Often times the account will completely “turnover” every month with different securities. This type of investment trading activity in the client’s account serves no reasonable purpose for the investor and is engaged in only to profit the broker through the generation of commissions created by the trades. Churning is considered a species of securities fraud. The elements of the claim are excessive transactions of securities, broker control over the account, and intent to defraud the investor by obtaining unlawful commissions. A similar claim, excessive trading, under FINRA’s suitability rule involves just the first two elements. Certain commonly used measures and ratios used to determine churning help evaluate a churning claim. These ratios look at how frequently the account is turned over plus whether or not the expenses incurred in the account made it unreasonable that the investor could reasonably profit from the activity.

Investor Recovery Options for Hi-Crush Partners (HCLP) Losses

December 30, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP continue to report on investor related losses and potential legal remedies due to unsuitable recommendations to investor in oil and gas and commodities related investments. Hi-Crush Partners (Ticker Symbol: HCLP) is a Master Limited Partnership (MLP). Hi-Crush Partners has declined 85.6% in value from its 52-week high and is trading at only $5.81 a share. Hi-Crush Partners business focuses in the fracking sand production sector.

About 86% of the total MLP securities market, a $490 billion sector, can be attributed to energy and natural resource companies. MLPs contain significant risks. MLPs tend to fluctuate wildly with the price of oil and gas. For example in 2008, when oil plummeted in the wake of the great recession the AMZ MLP Index declined by 36.9% in a single year. In addition, MLPs often grow their distributions at an accelerated rate in their first two years in order to attract positive research reports from Wall Street analysts. The increased distributions and positive reports serve to drive the stock price higher even though the long term yield of these MLPs are speculative and unknown.

However, brokers that have recommended MLPs to investors may have made unsuitable recommendations based upon the yields of these investments rather than the risk to principal. Over the past year MLPs have been hammered due to weaknesses in oil and gas and commodities markets.

Investor Recovery Options for New Source Energy Partners (NSLP) Losses

December 29, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP continue to report on investor related losses and potential legal remedies due to unsuitable recommendations to investor in oil and gas and commodities related investments. New Source Energy Partners (Ticker Symbol: NSLP) is a Master Limited Partnership (MLP). New Source Energy Partners has declined 99.6% in value from its 52-week high and is trading at only $.04 a share. New Source Energy Partners business focuses in the oil and gas production sector.

About 86% of the total MLP securities market, a $490 billion sector, can be attributed to energy and natural resource companies. There are about 130 MLPs trading on major exchanges that focus on energy related industries and natural resources. These companies have sprung up from the need for new energy infrastructure for the production and delivery of natural gas and crude oil from shale reserves.

However, brokers that have recommended MLPs to investors may have made unsuitable recommendations based upon the yields of these investments rather than the risk to principal. Over the past year MLPs have been hammered due to weaknesses in oil and gas and commodities markets.

Investor Recovery Options for Emerge Energy LP (EMES) Losses

December 29, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP continue to report on investor related losses and potential legal remedies due to unsuitable recommendations to investor in oil and gas and commodities related investments. Emerge Energy LP (Ticker Symbol: EMES) is a Master Limited Partnership (MLP). Emerge Energy has declined 93% in value from its 52-week high and is trading at only $4.71 a share. Emerge Energy business focuses in the Fracking Sand sector.

About 86% of the total MLP securities market, a $490 billion sector, can be attributed to energy and natural resource companies. There are about 130 MLPs trading on major exchanges that focus on energy related industries and natural resources. These companies have sprung up from the need for new energy infrastructure for the production and delivery of natural gas and crude oil from shale reserves.

However, brokers that have recommended MLPs to investors may have made unsuitable recommendations based upon the yields of these investments rather than the risk to principal. Over the past year MLPs have been hammered due to weaknesses in oil and gas and commodities markets.

Broker Investigation: TIC Complaints Against Sigma Financial Broker Tomas Velken

December 28, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The investment attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are interested in speaking with investors of broker Tomas Velken (Velken). According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Velken has been the subject of at least 14 customer complaints. The customer complaints against Velken allege securities law violations that including unsuitable investments, misrepresentations, and breach of fiduciary duty among other claims. Many of the complaints appear to be in connection with in connection with the sales of tenants-in-common (TICs).

The most recent complaint was filed in September 2015, and alleged $115,000 in losses due to a recommendation to invest in a real estate security transaction purchased in 2007. Another investor in April 2015, claimed $1,777,484 in damages due to a real estate security transactions purchased from 2005 through 2007. In March 2015, another investor alleged that in 2010 the broker made misrepresentations concerning an investment’s performance and claimed damages of $592,600.

As a background, TICs largely been sold unfairly as tax advantaged products that allow customers to defer capital gains taxes on appreciated real estate. TICs are private placements that have no secondary trading market and are therefore illiquid investments. In a typical TIC, the investor receives a fractional interest in the property along with other stakeholders and the profits are generated mostly through the efforts of the sponsor and the management company that manages and leases the property. The sponsor typically structures the TIC investment with up-front fees and expenses charged to the TIC and negotiates the sale price and loan for the acquired property. Because these fees are often higher than 15%, there is often no way for the investment to be profitable for the investor.

Investor Recovery Options for Breitburn Energy LP (BBEP) Losses

December 28, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP continue to report on investor related losses and potential legal remedies due to unsuitable recommendations to investor in oil and gas and commodities related investments. Breitburn Energy LP (Ticker Symbol: BBEP) is a Master Limited Partnership (MLP). Breitburn Energy has declined 91.1% in value from its 52-week high and is trading at only $.84 a share. Breitburn Energy business focuses in the oil and gas production sector.

About 86% of the total MLP securities market, a $490 billion sector, can be attributed to energy and natural resource companies. While MLPs have the same liquid trading characteristics as common stocks they are very different from typical stock investments. For instance, MLP’s are pass through investment vehicles, that is they pass through the income to the investor without any company level taxation. In addition, while there is no set payout level required to be adhered to by the company, unlike real estate investment trusts (REITs), MLP’s must derive 90% of their revenues from natural resources activities. However, most MLP’s do pay out most of their earnings through distributions causing company growth to come through the issuance of more debt and shares.

However, brokers that have recommended MLPs to investors may have made unsuitable recommendations based upon the yields of these investments rather than the risk to principal. Over the past year MLPs have been hammered due to weaknesses in oil and gas and commodities markets.

Recovery Options for Investors Caught in Christopher Brogdon’s Nursing Home Investment Scheme

December 27, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The securities attorneys of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating potential recovery options for investors of Christopher Brogdon’s (Brogdon) nursing home investment scheme who suffered losses as a result of the fraud. Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against Brogdon and affiliated entities alleging that Brogdon amassed nearly $190 million through dozens of municipal bond and private placement offerings to investors who would earn interest from revenues generated by nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or other retirement community projects. Instead, the SEC found that Brogdon secretly commingled investor funds in typical Ponzi scheme like fashion and diverted investor money to other business ventures and personal expenses.

Investors should be asking how Brogdon could have possibly been allowed to conduct this scheme. The Federal Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has noted in a related action (FINRA No. 2013035130101) against brokerage firm Cantone Research and its majority owner Anthony Cantone that Brogdon had twice been barred from the securities industry. FINRA describes the two Brogdon actions – once for “egregious misconduct” involving unauthorized transactions and the second for a “scheme” involving financial misconduct. In addition, Brogdon had also been indicted for racketeering, theft, and Medicaid fraud, and had been found liable for breaching a stock repurchase guarantee agreement. Furthermore several entities Brogdon controlled had filed for bankruptcy.

These complaints against Brogdon enablers like Cantone are just starting to be filed. The Bank of Oklahoma Financial has also been alleged to be the trustee for many of the Brogdon deals and faces investor scrutiny. The bank has filed its own suit against Brogdon.

Recovery Options for Third Avenue Focused Credit Fund Investors

December 27, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The investment attorneys of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating potential recovery options for investors in the Third Avenue Focused Credit Fund (TFCIX) managed by Third Avenue Management LLC. According to the Wall Street Journal, the mutual fund halted redemptions and announced plans to liquidate effectively freezing investor’s $789 million in investment assets that was supposed to provide mom and pop investors with easy access to their cash. Now investors in the Third Avenue Focused Credit Fund may not receive all their money back for months, if not longer while the fund liquidates.

According to Third Avenue’s Chief Executive David Barse the fund took the unprecedented step of halting redemptions because it needed to act quickly to preserve remaining assets. Third Avenue blamed poor bond-market trading conditions that made it almost impossible to raise sufficient cash to meet redemption demands from investors without a fire sale of remaining assets. As the Third Avenue fund began to collapse traders at hedge funds shorted and bet against the mutual fund’s holdings adding pressure to Third Avenue’s investor withdrawals and forcing the sale its holdings. The fund was down 27% this year through mid-December.

As regulators and industry analysts conduct the postmortem on the fund, it appears that a large part of the reason the Third Avenue fund ran into deep problems is because it purchased illiquid and difficult to trade investments that have been steadily losing value as investors fled energy and other kinds of riskier debt. According to Reuters, the fund, when compared with other junk bond funds, carried an elevated amount of risk. For instance the fund disclosed that 20 percent of the assets it carried were hard to value and trade. This amount was higher than any other U.S. junk bond fund with at least $500 million in assets.