Securities Lawyers Blog
On June 27, 2014, Gana Weinstein LLP filed a statement of claim against JHS Capital Advisors, LLC, formerly known as Pointe Capital Inc, on behalf of an Arkansas couple. The claims stem from the misconduct of Enver R. “Joe” Alijaj, a former Pointe Capital financial advisor who has worked at several different firms and has a record laden with customer complaints and FINRA violations. The statement of claim brought by Gana Weinstein LLP on Claimants’ behalf alleges (1) unsuitable recommendations, (2) failure to supervise, (3) breach of fiduciary duty, (4) fraudulent misrepresentation, and (5) breach of contract.
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.