Ponzi Scheme
QUEEN SHOALS INVESTMENT FRAUD
According to this Western District of North Carolina Department of Justice release, Sidney Hanson of Charlotte, North Carolina pleaded guilty in July, 2009 to securities fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering in relation to an investment scheme known as Queen Shoals. The SEC has also filed a Complaint related to the investment scheme.
The SEC states in the above Complaint that the Hansons and their sales force sold almost $33 million in “private loan agreements” to investors around the country. The investments were allegedly to be placed in a diversified portfolio” of precious metals, foreign currency and treasury notes, generating high returns while remaining safe in non-depletion accounts. In reality according to the SEC, the investment funds were invested “in a number of very risky private investment opportunities” and funds from new investors were used to pay off old investors.
Investors who were sold Queen Shoals investments by their stockbrokers, investment advisers, retirement specialists, or financial planners may have claims to be brought against related firms based on securities fraud, suitability, failure to do due diligence, misrepresentations and omissions, and other legal grounds. Greco & Greco is currently investigating sales by FINRA registered parties in Virginia - please contact us for a free consultation if you believe you may have a claim.
Posted by Greco & Greco on 11/25 at 02:57 PM
Arbitration •
Brokerage Firms •
FINRA •
Ponzi Scheme •
Retirement •
SEC •
State Regulators •
North Carolina •
Suitability •
Unregistered Securities •
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Provident Royalties / Shale Royalties charged with fraud by SEC
As set out in this SEC Release, Provident Royalties, LLC and many related entities (including Shale Royalties entities) have been charged with engaging in a $485 million offering fraud and orchestrating a ponzi scheme. According to the SEC’s Complaint and release, “Provident falsely promised yearly returns of up to 18 percent,” and used investor funds from later offerings to pay “expenses related to earlier offerings and returns to investors in those offerings.” Unaffiliated brokerage firms were solicited by Provident to sell the investments through placement agreements for each offering, thereby selling the investments to retail investors nationwide.
Investors who were sold these offerings by their stock brokers and have suffered losses may have claims that they can bring in FINRA arbitrations against their brokerage firms. Firms selling such offerings have due diligence duties prior to approval of their sale, and representatives are required to only make suitable recommendations to their customers. Additionally, representatives may not misrepresent the risk of securities they recommend, and they must disclose material facts related to risk. Greco & Greco is preparing to pursue claims in arbitration on behalf of customers who were sold these products. If you think you may have a claim, please contact us for a free consultation with one of our attorneys.
Posted by Greco & Greco on 11/13 at 05:12 PM
Arbitration •
Brokerage Firms •
Gunn Allen •
FINRA •
Ponzi Scheme •
SEC •
Suitability •
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Securities Fraud Guilty Plea for IPOF Fund Manager
A fund manager who had utilized Ferris Baker Watts accounts for his IPOF fund plead guilty in Cleveland, Ohio to securities fraud related to stock price manipulation. According to this Baltimore Sun article, David A. Dadante lost $28 million dollars of investors’ monies in a scheme that started as a ponzi scheme and led to at least four different illegal trading techniques to artificially increase the price of a specific stock, Innotrac.
The Baltimore Sun has extensively covered the involvement of Ferris Baker Watts in this matter in these linked articles, which discuss the early retirement of several executives since the investigation began, a 2003 company memo regarding concerns, and internal flags of potential problems in Dadante’s accounts.
Stephen J. Glantz, a former Ferris broker, has recently been charged with related securities fraud by federal prosecutors in Cleveland. According to this Baltimore Sun article, the Ferris broker is charged with engaging in unauthorized trading in his clients’ account to aid Dadante’s scheme.
Posted by Greco & Greco on 08/17 at 12:03 PM
Brokerage Firms •
Ferris Baker Watts •
Ponzi Scheme •
Stock Manipulation •
Unauthorized Trading •
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Universal Leases found to be Unregistered Securities
As set out more fully below on our firm’s website (link below), the sale of Universal Leases in the name of Resort Holdings, Yucatan Resorts, and Avalon Resorts have been found by many states to be violations of securities laws prohibiting the sale of unregistered securities. The federal government has alleged that these investments relating to timeshares were a ponzi scheme. The link below further has a link to the FBI press release regarding the arrest of Michael Kelly.
Greco & Greco Universal Lease page
Posted by Greco & Greco on 08/03 at 04:13 PM
Ponzi Scheme •
State Regulators •
Arizona •
California •
Colorado •
Illinois •
Maryland •
Pennsylvania •
Texas •
Utah •
Universal Lease - Resort Holdings, Yucatan, Avalon •
Unregistered Securities •
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NASAA’s Top Ten Investment Scams
The North American Securities Administrators Association’s (NASAA) has published a top ten list of investment scams, including ponzi schemes, affinity fraud, unlicensed securities sellers, prime bank schemes, and variable annuities sales practices:
NASAA Top Ten Investment Scams.
Posted by Greco & Greco on 07/20 at 11:05 AM
Affinity Fraud •
Ponzi Scheme •
Unregistered Securities •
Variable Annuities •
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