Investor Lawyers Blog

Customers Blame Newbridge Securities Broker Kerri Jamison For Investment Losses

Published on: July 10, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Dually Registered Rep. Faces Multiple FINRA Arbitration Claims by Investors

Kerri Suzanne Jamison, a Newbridge Securities Corp. and Newbridge Financial Services Group stockbroker, is currently the subject of pending complaints by customers who claim they lost money because of investment recommendations she made.

Jamison, who has worked under the names Kerri Lasegue and Kerri Romero, is one of several of the firm’s registered representatives to become the subject of stockbroker fraud claims in recent years. According to her BrokerCheck record, Jamison has been named in four customer disputes. One was settled, and three, which were filed this year, are still pending:

Once Again, GPB Capital Holdings Reneges On Giving Key Tax Documents to Investors

Published on: July 9, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

K-1 Tax Documents Delayed Past Tax Deadline

In the latest GPB Capital news, the firm has notified investors of its GP Holdings II, LP fund that they won’t be getting their 2019 Schedule K-1 tax documents ahead of or by July 15, 2020, which is when US tax filings are due this year. The filing deadline was extended by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from its usual April 15 date as part of the US government’s COVID-19 relief.

This is the latest delay by the alternative asset firm, which has yet to provide key financial statements to investors and regulators for the past few years and is accused of operating a more than $1.5 B Ponzi scam.

Why Should Many San Francisco Investors Avoid Non-Traded REITs?

Published on: July 8, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Non-Traded Real Estate Investment Trusts Are Risky, Illiquid

If you are a retail investor in San Francisco whose broker is recommending that you invest in non-traded real estate investment trusts (non-traded REITs), you should strongly reconsider.

While often touted as a security that allows investors to make money without having to worry about market volatility – this type of investment is actually still high risk, illiquid, and not suitable for many customers including retail investors, retirees, and other conservative investors with low-risk tolerance levels.

Investors Lose Money After Brokers Recommend FS KKR Capital Corp II Fund

Published on: July 3, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Business Development Company May Have Been Unsuitable For Some Investors

If you are an investor who suffered losses after your stockbroker recommended the Franklin Square KKR Capital II Fund (FSKR), also known as FS KKR Capital Corp II, you may have grounds for pursuing a broker fraud claim for damages.

This business development company (BDC), which is a merger of four non-traded BDCs, reportedly was unsuitably recommended to a number of customers and/or the risks were never fully disclosed to them.

Investors Accuse Purepath Wealth Management Investment Advisor & Crown Capital Securities Broker Dennis Haywood of Making Inappropriate Investment Recommendations

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

Crown Capital Securities Broker Was Recently Named in Four FINRA Arbitration Claims

Dennis Haywood, a Crown Capital Securities broker, is now named in four customer disputes, all of which were filed in the last two months with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Haywood is also a Purepath Wealth Management investment adviser.

The claimants are accusing him of making inappropriate investment recommendations of non-traded real estate investment trusts (non-traded REITs), non-traded business development companies (BDCs), alternative investments, and variable annuities (VA).

Brokers May Have Sold Granite Point Mortgage Trust REITs Even When Unsuitable for Investors

Published on: June 29, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

COVID-19 Causes This Mortgage REIT to Drop in Value

If you lost money from investing in Granite Point Mortgage Trust (GPMT), you may be able to file a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claim against the broker and their brokerage firm that sold this real estate investment trust (REIT) to you. Unfortunately, shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust plunged in March in the wake of COVID-19 and continued to drop.

Our REIT fraud lawyers at Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK) are speaking with GPMT investors to help them explore whether they have grounds for a broker negligence case.

Moody National REIT II Investors May Have Grounds For Stockbroker Misconduct Claims

Published on: June 25, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Did Brokers Recommend This Unregistered Security Because of High Commissions?

Investors who backed Moody National REIT II, a nontraded real estate investment trust, are now grappling with losses sustained after this investment significantly plunged in value and the company’s public offering and distribution payments were suspended.

Nontraded REITs, which are very high risk, are not for every investor, and yet the 7% commission the REIT paid stockbrokers may have been incentive enough to recommend them to customers even when they weren’t in the latter’s best interests.

Ex-Raymond James Broker Frederick Stow Is Accused of Stealing $1M from Senior Investors

Published on: June 24, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Barred Stockbroker Faces Criminal and SEC Charges for Senior Investor Fraud

Frederick Stow (CRD#: 864436), a former Raymond James broker based out of Tennessee, is now the subject of criminal charges accusing him of securities fraud, identity theft, and wire fraud for allegedly stealing $943,500 from the IRAs and other accounts of two senior investors between 2015 and 2019.

The broker-dealer fired him last year and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) barred him in January. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently filed a parallel civil lawsuit against Stow.

SagePoint Financial Ordered to Pay Over $1.6M for Early Unit Investment Trust Rollovers That Cost Investors

Published on: June 22, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

FINRA Says SagePoint Financial Brokers Unsuitably Recommended Early UIT Rollovers

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is ordering SagePoint Financial to pay over $1.6M in fines and restitution after it executed over $895 million in unit investment trust (UIT) transactions that resulted in more than $17.2 million in sales charges.

Of these UIT transactions, over $203.7 million of the proceeds were from sales that occurred over 100 days before a UIT’s maturity date. FINRA found that these unsuitable early rollovers caused customers to pay over $1.3 million in sales charges that they wouldn’t have otherwise if only they’d held onto their UITs until they matured.

$200K Investor Claim Against Arni Diamond, Of The Diamond Group, Alleges Unsuitable Alternative Investment Recommendations

Published on: June 18, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Diamond and Other Kalos Capital Brokers Are Accused of Broker Fraud

Arni Diamond, who is now a registered representative with Dempsey Lord Smith, is currently the subject of a pending $200K broker fraud claim accusing him of making unsuitable alternative investment recommendations reportedly while he was a Kalos Capital broker.

Diamond is one of a number of financial representatives currently or formerly associated with Kalos who has been accused of marketing securities products to investors even when they were inappropriate for them.