Cantone Research

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.

According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Raymond DeRobbio (DeRobbio) has been the subject of seven customer complaints and one regulatory action. The customer complaints against DeRobbio allege that the broker made unsuitable investments concerning certain bonds that defaulted. The regulatory complaint against DeRobbio was initiated by the state of Indiana in which DeRobbio withdrew as an agent.

DeRobbio entered the securities industry in 1983 and since that time DeRobbio has been associated with over a dozen firms. Starting in June 2006 through July 2012, DeRobbio was associated with J.P. Turner & Company, L.L.C. From July 2012, until June 2013, DeRobbio was registered with Northeastern Financial Group, Incorporated. Finally, since June 2013, DeRobbio has been registered with Cantone Research Inc. out of a branch located in Tinton Falls, New Jersey.

All brokers and financial advisers have an obligation to their customers to deal with them in a fair manner. That obligation includes making suitable investment recommendations. In order to make suitable recommendations the broker must have a reasonable basis for recommending the product or security based upon the broker’s investigation of the investments properties including its costs, benefits, risks, tax consequences, and other relevant factors. In addition, the broker must also understand the customer’s specific investment objectives to determine whether or not the specific product or security being recommended is appropriate for the customer based upon their needs.

Articles Tagged with Cantone Research

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

Broker Spotlight: Cantone Research’s Raymond DeRobbio