FINRA arbitration can help investors recover losses, but results depend on preparation and strategy. Our attorneys conduct a detailed case review, draft a fact-rich Statement of Claim, and manage arbitrator selection, discovery, mediation, and hearing presentation. We focus on evidence, deadlines, and damages analysis so clients know what to expect from start to award today.
Continue ReadingThe SEC moved to halt an alleged EquiAlt Ponzi scheme tied to four real estate investment funds, freezing assets and appointing a receiver. Investors’ recovery often turns on how the investment was sold—misrepresentations, failed due diligence, unsuitable recommendations, or selling away. Our firm evaluates claims and pursues FINRA arbitration or coordinated litigation for harmed investors.
Continue Reading“Selling away” occurs when a broker sells securities through unauthorized private transactions outside a firm’s approved product list. Because the deal bypasses brokerage screening, disclosures, and supervision, investors face fraud risk and may have a harder time recovering losses. The page explains examples, FINRA Rules 3270/3280, penalties, and recovery options like arbitration, mediation, or lawsuits.
Continue ReadingThis article explains how the Madoff SIPA trustee used claims packages as a ‘Trojan Horse’: investors seeking SIPC recovery were asked to list every withdrawal, creating a roadmap for clawback suits. It outlines trustee powers under Bankruptcy Code Sections 547 and 548, plus state transfer laws, and why good-faith may shield principal but not profits.
Continue ReadingMany GPB Capital investors bought illiquid limited-partnership interests sold as income-producing private placements, only to see distributions stop and valuations go dark. Our firm sees losses compounded by 8–10% commissions and misleading reassurance to “wait.” The recovery path is acting quickly—gather documents and pursue claims typically through FINRA arbitration, before eligibility and limitation deadlines expire.
Continue ReadingOur firm is investigating EquiAlt debenture losses tied to four private placements. The SEC alleged $175 million in debentures were sold to over 1,100 investors and misrepresented as safe, low-risk products, with later payments resembling a Ponzi scheme. Many sales involved commissions and weak brokerage due diligence. Recovery may include FINRA arbitration or receivership distributions.
Continue ReadingBy Dow Jones Business News, July 09, 2013, 04:07:00 PM EDT By Corrie Driebusch NEW YORK–An arbitration panel has ordered Wells Fargo Advisors to pay $2.8 million to a family limited partnership that accused the firm of negligence in connection with alleged thefts from its investment account. The Miami , Fla.-based partnership had sued a former secretary, accusing her of forging signatures to transfer money out of its accounts, and won a $21 million judgment in a Florida district court in 2010. That suit alleged the secretary, Esther Spero, took the money for her personal use from accounts at Wachovia Securities and elsewhere between 2005 and 2008. Wachovia was later acquired by Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC ). In its separate arbitration claim against Wells Fargo, the partnership, called College Health and Investment Ltd., said the brokerage was negligent in failing to detect the alleged theft. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel found Wells Fargo to be liable and ordered that it pay $ 2.3 million in damages and prejudgment interest. Wells Fargo also must also pay $419,000 in margin interest and $35,000 in costs. College Health and Investment Ltd. had requested $4.4 million, according to the arbitration panel ruling. As is customary in the FINRA claims system, the written award did not explain the panel’s reasoning. Robert Wayne Pearce, lawyer for the partnership, said it showed the panel agreed with the negligence claim. A Wells Fargo spokesman said in a statement, “We’re disappointed in the panel’s decision and don’t believe it was warranted by the facts presented during the hearing.” Write to Corrie Driebusch at corrie.driebusch@dowjones.com. Dow Jones Newswires 07-09-131607ET Copyright (c) 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Continue Reading