Securities Lawyers Blog

Advisor Joseph Roop Has Customer Complaints Over Alternative Investments

March 24, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

Advisor Joseph Roop (Roop), formerly employed by Kalos Capital, Inc. (Kalos) has been subject to at least seven customer complaints and one bankruptcy during the course of his career. According to a BrokerCheck report some of the customer complaints concern alternative investments such as direct participation products (DPPs) like non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), oil & gas programs, and annuities. The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP have represented hundreds of investors who suffered losses caused by these types of high risk, low reward products.

In addition, brokers at Kalos have been accused of selling millions in fraudulent GPB Capital Holdings (GPB Capital) related investments. GPB Capital is facing multiple accusations of being a Ponzi scheme, an ongoing U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and FBI investigations, and even GPB’s chief compliance officier being indicted for illegally obtaining information on the SEC’s investigation. Now even Volkswagen and Toyota are threatening to pull the plug on GPB Capital auto dealerships. While advisors have been telling investors to do absolutely nothing and just hang in there – this is nothing more than just additional poor advice. In November 2019 GPB Capital’s admitted that no financial audit would occur anytime in the near future. The firm has admitted that it has never been profitable and has merely returned investor capital in the past in order to fake a successful business model. In sum, investors now know there is nothing to hang onto. By the day, advisor recommendations to do nothing appear to be completely self-serving, out of the loop, and not in the interest of the investor.

In July 2019 a customer complained that Roop violated the securities laws by alleging that Roop engaged in sales practice violations related to unsuitable investments in alternative securities (REITS, etc.) during the time period from 2012 through 2017. The claim alleges $450,000 in damages and is currently pending.

In October 2018 a customer complained that Roop violated the securities laws by alleging that Roop engaged in sales practice violations related to unsuitable investments and sale of securities when not properly registered in the State of Alabama from January 2011 through July 2014. The claim alleges $100,000 in damages and was settled for $90,000.

Gana Weinstein Represents Multiple Walton Land Fund Investors

March 23, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP continue to investigate broker sales of the Walton Land Fund companies (Walton Land). Walton Land has been solicited many brokers across the country as investments in real estate. Walton Land is a highly speculative private placement that invests on vacant undeveloped properties that do not generate income. The hope is that one day in the far future Walton Land can sell the properties for a profit to someone else to develop. The problem is that Walton Land needs to pay carrying costs on the properties while they do not generate income. In addition, newsources have exposed that Walton Land makes a profit on these properties by selling them to the funds at a huge mark up

As a recent Bloomberg article exposed a “markup of five times Walton’s own price wasn’t unusual across hundreds of properties. In one 2008 investment vehicle, Walton bought 304 acres northeast of Atlanta at a price of $13,600 an acre in U.S. dollars, and syndicated it to investors at about $68,000 an acre.” In other words, Walton is sure to profit on its own deals by selling properties it bought for way cheaper to ignorant retail investors for many times the properties’ actual value. In addition, broker’s are paid huge commissions to never reveal these facts to their clients and get their “cut” of the land fraud. “Walton also was paying sales commissions as high as 13.25% in some cases, even though 6% is more typical for speculative investments, securities experts say.”

Network 1 Financial Advisor Carl Antaki Has Churning Complaints

March 23, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Carl Antaki (Antaki), currently associated with Network 1 Financial Securities Inc. (Network 1 Financial), has been subject to at least five customer complaints and one employment termination for cause during his career. Some of the investor complaints against Antaki concern allegations of high frequency trading activity also referred to as churning or excessive trading.

In March 2019 a customer complained that Antaki violated the securities laws by alleging that Antaki engaged in sales practice violations related to unsuitable investments. The claim is currently pending and seeks $100,000 in damages.

In October 2017 a customer complained that Antaki violated the securities laws by alleging that Antaki engaged in sales practice violations related to fraud, misrepresentations, churning and breach of fiduciary duty. The claim settled for $8,750.

Advisor Benjamin Lowder Accused of Selling Private Securities – Investor Recovery

February 27, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that advisor Benjamin Lowder (Lowder) has multiple client complaints concerning allegations that he engaged in the sales of private securities among other allegations. Lowder was also barred by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) concerning his private securities sales conduct. According to BrokerCheck records, Lowder was formerly registered with FINRA member firm MSI Financial Services, Inc. (MSI Financial). If you have been a victim of Lowder’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

In October 2019 FINRA found that Lowder consented to the sanctions and a bar from them industry as well as to the entry of findings that he refused to appear for testimony before FINRA during the course of an investigation that began after investor civil lawsuits submitted by his former member firm. FINRA found that the civil lawsuits alleged unfair and deceptive trade practices and state securities fraud regarding investments in fictitious entities.

According to Lowder’s publicly disclosed records the he has no disclosed outside business activities.

Advisor Edward Rudiger Accused of Churning by Multiple Clients

February 25, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Edward Rudiger (Rudiger), currently associated with Reid & Rudiger LLC (Reid & Rudiger), has been subject to at least six customer complaints and one lien or judgement matters during his career. The two most recent complaints against Rudiger concern allegations of high frequency trading activity also referred to as churning or excessive trading.

In October 2019 a customer complained that Rudiger violated the securities laws by alleging that Rudiger engaged in sales practice violations related to false and misleading statements, excessive trading, breach of fiduciary duty and failure to supervise. The claim is currently pending and seeks $220,542 in damages.

In June 2019 a customer complained that Rudiger violated the securities laws by alleging that Rudiger engaged in sales practice violations related to excessive trading and misrepresentation. The claim is currently pending and seeks $279,577 in damages.

Advisor Narinder Singh Accused of Selling Private Securities – Investor Recovery

February 25, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that advisor Narinder Singh (Singh) has multiple client complaints concerning allegations that he engaged in the sales of investments in a company he controlled called Express Asset and Wealth Management, Inc. (Express Asset) among other allegations. According to BrokerCheck records, Singh was formerly registered with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm Farmers Financial Solutions, LLC (Farmers Financial). If you have been a victim of Singh’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

In December 2019 a customer complained that Singh violated the securities laws by alleging that Singh solicited him to invest $50,000 in an investment contract guaranteeing 5% interest for six months to a company controlled by Singh. The claim alleged $16,500 in damages and is currently pending.

In September 2019 a customer complained that Singh violated the securities laws by alleging that Singh induced them to invest $412,500 into an investment contracts with a company Singh controlled called Express Asset and Wealth Management, Inc. Claimants alleged that the first investment of $300,000 was made in January 2015 and second investment of $112,500 was made in January 2017. The claim alleged $1,237,500 in damages and is currently pending.

According to Singh’s publicly disclosed records the he has no disclosed outside business activities.

Western International Advisor Stuart Godin Has Customer Complaints

February 20, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating BrokerCheck records reports that financial advisor Stuart Godin (Godin), currently employed by Western International Securities, Inc. (Western International) has been subject to at least eight customer complaints during the course of his career. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Godin’s customer complaints alleges that Godin recommended unsuitable investments in various investments such as promissory notes, managed commodities, and other investments among other allegations of misconduct relating to the handling of their accounts.

In May 2019 a customer complained that Godin violated the securities laws by alleging that Godin made misrepresentation and incompetence on stock selections from 2018 to 2019. The claim alleged $35,000 in damages and settled for $9,000.

In November 2017 a customer complained that Godin violated the securities laws by alleging that Godin caused losses due to the financial advisor’s unsuitable recommendation to invest in a managed futures fund from November 2012 through 2016. The claim alleged $50,000 in damages and settled for $20,000.

Robert Brinckerhoff Has Investor Complaint Over Structured Products

February 20, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating BrokerCheck records reports that financial advisor Robert Brinckerhoff (Brinckerhoff), currently employed by Morgan Stanley has been subject to at least five customer complaints and five regulatory actions during the course of his career. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Brinckerhoff’s customer complaints alleges that Brinckerhoff recommended unsuitable investments in various investments such structured products among other allegations of misconduct relating to the handling of their accounts.

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently representing investors who were surprised to find out that the “bonds” that were recommended by their advisors have almost completely stopped paying interest while plummeting in value. What many investors in this situation did not realize was that they were not sold bonds at all but instead complex structured products that go by a variety of names including steepener notes, adjustable rate market notes, spread linked notes, or structured notes. Regulators have already stated that it is improper to sell these investments as a fixed income substitute or to compare them to bonds in terms of producing a revenue stream. However, in our firm’s experience it appears that many brokers have been selling structured products as bond alternatives.

Structured products range in risk from benign to extreme. However, most structured products produce inferior risk/return profiles than ordinary debt or equity instruments because the brokerage firms that issue these products seek to profit from the spread between the payment to investors and the amount of money the brokerage firm can make from the issuance. When dealing with complex structured products most investors will lack the ability to understand the merits of investments nor are they appropriate for investors seeking a fixed or reliable income and have a desire for preservation of capital.

Mercer Hicks Has Regulatory Complaint Over REIT Investment Sales

February 18, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

Advisor Mercer Hicks (Hicks), currently employed by Southeast Investments, N.C., Inc. (Southeast Investments) has been subject to at least five liens, three employment terminations for cause, and one regulatory complaint during the course of his career. According to a BrokerCheck report the customer complaints concern alternative investments such as direct participation products (DPPs) like non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), oil & gas programs, annuities, and equipment leasing programs. The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP have represented dozens of investors who suffered losses caused by these types of high risk, low reward products.

In December 2019 Hicks was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he recommended unsuitable investments to five senior customers to purchase speculative REITs and non-traded business development companies (BDCs). FINRA alleges that the prospectuses and subscription agreements for these non-traded REITs and non-traded BDCs stated that investing in these securities involved a high degree of risk, was speculative, was not suitable for persons who require immediate liquidity, guaranteed income, or seek short-term investments, and was only appropriate for those investors who could afford a complete loss of their investments.

FINRA claims that the five senior customers at issue were not seeking to make speculative, high-risk investments. The customers’ account documents indicated that they were seeking to preserve their capital or capital appreciation. In addition, FINRA claims that some of these customers have encountered difficulties liquidating the investments to obtain funds that they needed to pay for medical care. FINRA alleged that Hicks recommended purchases of unsuitable non-traded REITs and non-traded BDCs to the five senior customers totaling approximately $665,000 while Hicks received a seven percent commission from each sale totaling $46,550.

Independent Financial Advisor Morgan Arford Has Customer Complaints

February 18, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating BrokerCheck records reports that financial advisor Morgan Arford (Arford), currently employed by Independent Financial Group, LLC (Independent Financial) has been subject to at least four customer complaints during the course of his career. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Arford’s customer complaints alleges that Arford recommended unsuitable investments among other allegations of misconduct relating to the handling of their accounts.

In September 2016 a customer complained that Arford violated the securities laws by alleging that Arford in mid-2012 participated in the sale of unapproved and unsuitable investments in oil and gas and a penny stock. The claim alleged $140,760 in damages and settled for $95,000.

In August 2016 a customer complained that Arford violated the securities laws by alleging that Arford in 2012 and 2013 participated in the sale of unapproved and unsuitable investments in oil and gas and a penny stock. The claim alleged $335,300 in damages and settled for $192,500.