Trusted GWG Bond Attorneys

California Retiree Sues Centaurus Financial & Broker Valentino Scott Over GWG L Bond Losses. Claimant FINRA Lawsuit Seeks Up To  $500K

The Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Trusted GWG Bond Attorneys (investorlawyers.com) is representing another investor with a GWG fraud lawsuit against Centaurus Financial. The claimant is a senior investor. Also, a respondent in the case is Centaurus broker Valentino Michael Scott, whose CRD notes 11 investment losses recovery claims since 2020. Five others were filed before then.

In this FINRA arbitration claim, which would be heard by a panel of arbitrators in Los Angeles, CA, this investor contends that Scott allegedly unsuitably recommended high commission products that were in the broker’s and Centaurus’s best interests rather than what the claimant wanted or needed.

The Centaurus financial advisor then purportedly proceeded to misrepresent, from the start, and throughout the life of the account, that the investments were doing well.

Among the allegedly unsuitable investment recommendations:

• Moody National, which is now on the verge of going out of business.
• GWG L Bonds—GWG Holdings filed for bankruptcy protection in 2021, and is accused of being a more than $1.6B Ponzi scam.

GWG L bonds are illiquid, high-risk junk bonds. They were unsuitable for this investor. Yet that didn’t stop brokers from dozens of regional broker-dealers from favoring the high commissions they stood to earn rather than ensuring appropriateness for many customers.

L Bond investors, many of them seniors and retirees, have since collectively lost millions of dollars from this investment that was often misrepresented as safe and low-risk.

L Bonds investors were unaware that their money was being repurposed to fund another company, The Beneficient Company Group, which was founded by GWG board chairman Brad Heppner. In March 2025, Beneficient announced it would settle all claims in lawsuits involving GWG Holdings in which it was named a defendant.

Now, because of this Centaurus broker’s allegedly self-serving recommendations and failure to warn our client about GWG L Bonds and their Ponzi-like nature, this investor is looking at a complete loss of the principal he invested in GWG and other illiquid products.

We believe that the supervision in this case by Centaurus was simply inexcusable. It was a failure to supervise. The respondents appear to have breached their fiduciary duty to this claimant.

Speak With Our Trusted GWG Bond Attorneys

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Trusted GWG Bond Attorneys  are representing many L Bond investors against Centaurus and other broker-dealers that marketed and sold what were supposed to be life settlement-backed bonds. Regardless, this was too risky for many who ended up investing.

When you work with us, you become part of our unit of GWG L Bond lawsuits that is represented by everyone at our firm. Trust us when we tell you that working with a securities law firm that is already well-versed in why GWG failed, and the role that financial advisors played in unnecessarily exposing investors to this investment, can only help your case.

We have the skills, resources, and knowledge to maximize each of our clients’ chances of full financial recovery. Contact us here or call our Trusted GWG Bond Attorneys at (800) 259-9010.