Broker Fraud

SunTrust Brokers May Have Unsuitably Recommended Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) to Investors

Published on: January 14, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Customers Claim That Northstar Financial Services Products Were Touted As Low Risk & Safe

If you are an investor who suffered losses while investing in Northstar Financial Services products that were recommended to you by a SunTrust Investment Services stockbroker, please contact Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm investorlawyers.com) today so that we can help you explore your legal options.

Unfortunately, there are financial advisors who may have marketed Northstar Financial Services’ investments as stable, safe, low risk, and liquid – like a CD or a money market account – even when that has proven to be far from the case. Now, Northstar Financial Services is in bankruptcy and undergoing liquidation proceedings. It is very likely that investors have lost most of, if not their entire, investment.

Utah Retirees Files $500K Investor Fraud Claim Over GPB & REIT Losses After Working With Triad Advisors & Broker Michael Payne

Published on: January 11, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Triad Advisors and its Ex-Florida-Based Broker Placed Claimants Funds In Too Risky GPB Capital & REIT Investments

Two Utah retirees have filed a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claim against Triad Advisors, Inc. over losses they suffered from investing in GPB private placements and privately traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), including American Realty Capital Trust. Now they are seeking up to $500K in damages.

The couple worked with former Triad Advisors broker Michael Payne, who is now a broker with Proequities, Inc. in Longwood, Florida. He also is a financial representative with Payne Financial Group in Winter Springs, Florida.

Ex-Merrill Lynch Broker Gets Eight Years in Prison For Investor Fraud

Published on: January 3, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Former Kentucky-Based Merrill Lynch Broker Gets Eight Years in Prison

Christopher Lee Hibbard, a former stockbroker for Merrill Lynch and Pierce, Fenner & Smith is sentenced to eight years in prison. The ex-Kentucky stockbroker pleaded guilty to investment fraud and multiple counts of wire fraud earlier this year.

Hibbard, who worked 18 years in the industry, has 14 disclosures on his BrokerCheck record, including several pending customer disputes. All of them, including the regulator and criminal cases, were filed over the last two years.

Municipalities’ Inability to Pay Bond Interest Places Investors in a Precarious Position

Published on: December 14, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Seeking Greater Yield and Safety, Muni Bond Customers Encounter Defaults

Despite the fact that the coronavirus has taken a toll on city and state finances, this isn’t stopping investors from buying municipal debt in a bid for greater yield and more safety than the markets can provide at this time. Unfortunately, because many municipalities don’t have the money to pay interest on the bonds, these muni bonds are defaulting. This is bad news for investors.

If you suffered losses from the municipal bonds that your broker recommended to you, you may have grounds for an investor claim to recover your losses. Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) represents municipal bond fraud investors nationwide. We can help you explore your legal options.

New York Yankees’ Aroldis Chapman Files $3M Investment Fraud Claim Against Pro Management Resources

Published on: November 30, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Florida-Based Financial Management Company Employee Allegedly Stole Money

Albertín Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz, the star relief pitcher for the New York Yankees, has filed an investment fraud lawsuit against Pro Management Resources and several individuals. The financial management and tax planning company reportedly has also been serving as Chapman’s business manager for almost a decade. Now, the MLB pitcher is accusing the company of stealing $3M.

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) represent investors in Florida that have suffered investment losses due to broker and financial fraud or negligence. Contact us at (813) 560-2992 or by using our online contact form so that we can help you explore your legal options.

Frontier Communications to Sell $2.8B of Junk Bonds as Part of Bankruptcy Exit

Published on: November 27, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Investors Who Were Sold Telecommunication Company’s Bonds Grapple with Losses

In its second sale in two months, Frontier Communications Corp. wants to sell $2.8B in junk bonds to help pay for its exit from bankruptcy.

According to sources that spoke with Bloomberg, this includes new $1.8B first-lien bonds at an about 5.25% yield and another $1B of second-lien notes at a 7 – 7.25% yield. The new bonds, along with an increase to an existing term loan, are meant to allow Frontier to pay back debt it owes that will mature in 2024 and 2026.

Royal Alliance, Securities America, & Other Firms To Pay $3M for Allegedly Unsuitable iPath S&P 500 VIX Short–Term Futures ETN & Other ETP Sales

Published on: November 23, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Retail Investors Were Allegedly Told To Hold Exchange-Traded Products for Too Long

In separate settlements reached with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Royal Alliance Associates, Securities America Advisors, Summit Financial Group, Benjamin F. Edwards & Co., and American Portfolio Financial Services / American Portfolio Advisers will pay over $3M in penalties and restitution for their allegedly unsuitable sales of exchange-traded products (ETPs) to customers between January 2016 and April 2020. The firms did not deny or admit to the findings.

All of the respondents recommended and sold iPath S&P 500 VIX Short–Term Futures ETNs (VXX), which utilize short-terms futures contracts https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/080715/etf-analysis-ipath-sp-500-vix-futures-vxx.aspto try tracking the S&P 500 Index’s implied volatility. It also is considered one of the largest and most volatile ETPs and among the worst-performing from last year.

Hannes Financial Services’ Ronald Hannes Allegedly Defrauded Woodbury Financial Customers

Published on: November 20, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Banned Woodbury Financial Broker Allegedly Sold Fake Investments, Converted Client Monies

Ronald Walter Hannes, a Spokane, Washington-based investment advisor and former Woodbury Financial Services broker, is accused by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions of defrauding 19 clients of over $2.9M.

Hannes had operated out of Hannes Financial Services and he was also a registered Woodbury Financial Services broker for 25 years until 2019. He has 33 years of experience working in the industry. Hannes was fired by Woodbury Financial Services last December. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) barred him in February.

Global Investment Advisory Services’ Felipe Vargas is Named in Customer’s $1.3M Barclays Bank iPath Series B S & P 500 Short Term Futures ETN Claim

Published on: November 13, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Investor Contends Insigneo Securities Broker Unsuitably Handled Account

A former customer of Felipe Henao Vargas, an Insigneo Securities stockbroker, is pursuing a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claim against the brokerage firm for $1.3M in damages related to the iPath Series B S & P 500 Short Term Futures ETN (VXX). Henao is also a registered investment advisor with Global Investor Advisory Services, LLC in Miami, Florida.

The investor said that Henao had placed a short-term trade for 20,000 of the Barclays exchange-traded note (ETN) in late February 2020 in the investor’s account and then made another trade a few weeks later to cover the short. The claimant reportedly wrote an email expressing concerns over the brokerage account’s performance, which had depreciated in value, and Henao’s lack of communication.

Chinese Tycoon Sues UBS for $500M Over Losses Involving Margin Loan

Published on: November 11, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

High Net Worth Individual Investor Alleges That UBS Group AG Persuaded Him To Buy On Margin

Guo Wengui, a rich Chinese businessman exiled in New York, has filed a lawsuit against UBS Financial Group after losing $500M.

Wengui contends that the bank pressured him into borrowing funds to invest in shares of Haitong Securities, Co., a brokerage firm in China. This high net worth institutional investor alleges that in 2015, UBS forced the stock’s sale during both a 45% drop in Haitong’s shares, which were traded in Hong Kong and a market route. Guo said that he lost his entire investment.