Investor Lawyers Blog

Castleberry Financial Services is Accused of $3.6M Investor Fraud

Published on: February 28, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed fraud charges against Castleberry Financial Services, its president T. Jonathon Turner, and CEO Norman M. Strell accusing them of running an investment fund scam that defrauded at least investors of $3.6M in the last year and continues to solicit new investors. The regulator also announced an asset freeze against the company’s operators. Based in Florida, Castleberry, which is a limited liability company, and its investment offerings are not registered with the SEC.

According to the Commission’s emergency action:

Castleberry falsely represented that it had hundreds of investment properties in its portfolio, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars invested in local businesses. Biz Journals reported that Castleberry touted itself as an alternative investment manager overseeing nearly $800M in capital. Also, in reality, the company never made significant revenue from investments.

Big Banks Are Accused of Rigging Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Bonds

Published on: February 27, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The City of Birmingham Retirement and Relief System and the Electrical Workers Pension System Local 103 have filed a proposed class action securities fraud lawsuit accusing a number of big banks of colluding with one another to rig the prices of Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac) and Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) unsecured bonds. The defendants in the case include JP Morgan (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), Barclays Bank (BARC), Deutsche Bank (DB), Credit Suisse (CS), UBS (UBS), Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas Securities Corp., FTN Financial Securities, Goldman Sachs (GS), and First Tennessee Bank.

According to Law360, the plaintiffs contend that the bank took advantage of the dark market nature of the “private, ‘over the counter’ (OTC) market” where these bonds are bought and sold to get investors to buy the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bonds at prices that were “artificially high.”

Fannie and Freddie are both government-backed mortgage-finance companies. They are typically known for converting mortgages into mortgage-backed securities. This investor fraud lawsuit, however, is focused on their unsecured bonds. The proposed class contends that investors purchased the bonds because they thought they were safe, liquid, low risk, and likely to make returns. Their complaint states that the plaintiffs and other investors had not expected the “overcharges and underpayments” that resulted because of the banks’ alleged collusion.

Investor Fraud Claims Include Kiddar Capital and Stanford Ponzi Scam

Published on: February 26, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

$20M Ponzi Scam Results in Guilty Plea for Kiddar Capital Founder

Todd Hitt, Kiddar Capital’s founder and a member of a prominent commercial real estate family in Virginia, has pleaded guilty to criminal fraud charges accusing him of operating a $20M Ponzi fraud that involved several schemes. According to prosecutors, Hitt solicited about $30M from investors and then proceeded to use most of the money to fund his lavish lifestyle while using newer investors’ funds to pay older investors. He also allegedly made “false statements and material omissions” to investors when he didn’t tell them that their money was comingled with unrelated projects and not just the real estate and venture capital investments for which their funds were supposedly designated.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia contends that because of Hitt’s “fraudulent conduct,” investors lost about $20M. He is facing up to 20 years behind bars and is expected to pay a fine of millions of dollars. He previously settled related civil fraud charges filed against him by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Former Commonwealth Financial Network Broker Is Accused of Stealing $100K From Retiree

Published on: February 25, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin has filed investor fraud charges against ex-broker Bruce Worthington, who was previously licensed with Commonwealth Financial Network and after that with Founders Financial Network. Worthington was based in Massachusetts.

According to Galvin’s fraud complaint, Worthington fraudulently misappropriated nearly $100K from one client’s accounts. The client is a retiree who worked as a groundskeeper and a landscaper. He was an inexperienced investor and Worthington was his broker for over 15 years.

From 2006 to 2008, about $98K was withdrawn from the retiree’s brokerage account. The state regulator contends that the money went towards Worthington’s own personal use. The ex-broker is accused of hiding his scam by persuading the client to diversify his portfolio. He also allegedly gave the retiree falsified documents to make it appear as if the diverted funds were put into alternative investments, including structured notes and laddered bonds, and had resulted in significant returns.

Philadelphia Sues Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Other Big Banks, Alleges Municipal Bond Rigging

Published on: February 21, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is suing Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), Barclays Plc (BAR), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) for allegedly rigging rates for variable-rate demand obligations (VRDOs). Philadelphia had issued over $1.6B of these bonds.

VRDOs are tax-exempt municipal securities that can be redeemed by investors early because they are tendered to banks. The banks can then remarket the bonds to other investors while charging issuers a fee.

According to InvestmentNews, the city is looking to represent a number of hospitals, municipalities, and universities with its lawsuit. The complaint contends that the banks worked with each other to manipulate the VRDO rates in secret so they could make hundreds of millions of dollars in unearned fees. The alleged rigging occurred between 2/2008 and 6/2016. The collusion purportedly involved the banks agreeing not to compete against each other for re-marketing services.

United Planners Fined $100K By Massachusetts for Inadequate Supervision of a Broker

Published on: February 20, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin’s office has fined United Planners Financial Services of America $100K for failing to properly supervise broker Thomas T. Riquier. The broker was charged last year for violating the state’s securities laws over his alleged involvement in a real estate scam that defrauded investors and others of at least $1M over 26 years.

According to the state regulator’s consent order, at one point Riquier, who is president of The Retirement Financial Center, oversaw 1,771 accounts for about 400 clients and generated more than $1.2M for United Planners, including over $500K in advisory fees. The state regulator charged Riquier, who is no longer a registered broker or investment adviser, last year with violating the Massachusetts Uniform Securities Act.

Investors of a limited partnership known as the Rowley Land Appreciation Fund Limited Partnership (The Rowley Fund) contend that Riquier told them that the property he was purchasing on their behalf would be sold for profit. Instead, he allegedly used their money to buy property that already belonged to him. Investors have yet to see any return on this property. Last year, The Salem News reported that according to investigators, Riquier made about $730K from his investor fraud.

Financial Firms: UBS Settles with Virginia’s Regulator over Broker’s Unsuitable Recommendations, FINRA Fines Texas Broker-Dealer $225K for Mutual Fund Sales Violations, and an Ex-Client Seeks $500K from Carson Wealth while Alleging Excessive Fees

Published on: February 19, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Virginia Regulator Fines UBS Financial After Its Broker Makes Unsuitable Recommendations

To settle charges brought by Virginia’s State Corporate Commission accusing a UBS (UBS) broker of making unsuitable recommendations involving gold and precious metals securities to 18 clients, UBS Financial Services will pay $319K—$289K to the clients and $30K to the state.

Virginia’s regulator contends that unsuitable recommendations were made in 2013 and 2014 and caused UBS clients to hold an overconcentration of these securities, which were not even suitable for some of them. The state said that this violated its securities rules.

U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals Invalidates PROMESA Board

Published on: February 18, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

On Friday, February 15, the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling on Judge Laura Swain’s prior decision that had affirmed the PROMESA Board as constitutional.

In a surprise finding, the Court of Appeals overruled Judge Swain, finding that the PROMESA Board members were not appropriately appointed.

The issue in dispute is whether the members of the PROMESA Board are required to receive the consent of the U.S. Senate. In particular, under PROMESA, President Obama appointed the seven members of the PROMESA Board by using a list of board members the U.S. Congress recommended. At the time, since all stakeholders appeared to have been given a vote in the appointment process, there was little objection to the PROMESA Board members. Then, in May 2017, the PROMESA Board placed Puerto Rico in a bankruptcy-like proceeding under Title III of the Act. Prior to the enactment of PROMESA, many investors – both retail and institutional – had relied on the fact that Puerto Rico could not file for Title 9 bankruptcy as insurance against ever receiving anything less than the par value of their bonds from Puerto Rico. PROMESA, with its Title III bankruptcy-like process, changed that insurance policy for many investors.

Recover Losses From Investing With Former Ameritas Investment Corp. Broker Kristian Gaudet

Published on: February 16, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Current Investigation: Shepherd, Smith, Edwards & Kantas, LLP (“SSEK Law Firm”) is currently investigating claims on behalf of former clients of Kristian “Kris” Gaudet (“Gaudet”) of Cut Off, Louisiana.

In January 2019, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) barred Gaudet from association with any FINRA member. The result of such a bar is that FINRA has effectively kicked Gaudet out of the brokerage business permanently. Kristian Guadet was most recently associated with Ameritas Investment Corp. (“Ameritas”), and had worked for Ameritas’ brokerage firm and insurance arm since 2003. Prior to Ameritas, Mr. Gaudet worked for The Advisors Group and Princor Financial Services. In November 2018, FINRA opened an investigation of Mr. Gaudet based on “suspicions that Mr. Gaudet was involved in fraudulent activities.” Then, only a few weeks later, on December 10, 2018, Ameritas terminated Mr. Gaudet based on allegations from clients that Mr. Gaudet was “using client funds for personal use.” Even after the termination from Ameritas, FINRA continued with its investigation. Rather than defend the allegations, Gaudet refused to appear or provide any on-the-record testimony, instead consenting to a permanent bar from the securities industry.

While it is unusual for brokers to find ways to steal client funds or otherwise use client funds as their own, it sadly does still happen. More importantly, our firm’s experience is that long before a broker starts taking client funds directly, that broker does many other less obvious things to hurt his/her clients while trying to profit from those same clients. The act of theft is typically the last in a series of wrongdoing that often goes undetected for years from customers.

Investor Fraud: Former MML Investors Broker Who Sold $3.5M of Woodbridge Notes is Barred, Ex-Merrill Lynch Rep Gets 40-Month Prison Term for Defrauding Clients, and Barred UBS Broker is Sentenced in $3.7M Fraud

Published on: February 15, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Ex-Merrill Lynch Broker Will Pay $5M Penalty and Serve Time In Prison

A federal judge has sentenced Thomas Buck, an ex-Merrill Lynch broker, to 40 months in prison. Buck pleaded guilty to securities fraud in 2017. As part of his plea, he admitted to lying to Merrill about telling clients about their account options, and, at certain times, making trades for them without getting their approval.

That year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had filed a complaint against Buck accusing him of making over $2.5M in excessive commissions and fees from more than four dozen clients. The SEC contends that Buck placed clients into accounts that charged them commissions instead of ones that were fee-based and not as costly. The regulator also accused him of making unauthorized trades. The Commission barred the former Merrill broker from the investment advisory and brokerage industries last year.