Lawyers at Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C. have handled many cases against stockbrokers and other investment professionals involving non-traded invesments such as REITs, hedge funds and private placements. FS Energy and Power Fund (“FSEP” or the “Fund”) is a non-traded business development company that invests primarily in the…
With increasing frequency retail investors are encountering scenarios in which they are offered an opportunity to invest in a private placement. A private placement – often referred to as a non-public offering – is an offering of a company’s securities that are not registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission…
Investors Capital will pay $1.1 million in fines and restitution over the sale of unit investment trusts (UITs) to resolve an investigation by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA). FINRA alleges that certain Investors Capital brokers recommended unsuitable short-term trading of UITs and other complex financial products known…
Securities Litigation Consulting Group of Fairfax, Virginia has estimated that shareholders of non-traded REITs are about $50 billion worse off for having put money into non-traded REITs rather than exchange-traded REITs. The estimate is based on the difference between the performance of more than 80 non-traded REITs and the performance…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently fined LPL Financial $10 million fine and ordered it to pay $1.7 million in restitution to investors who lost money with LPL brokers. The charges levied by FINRA alleged widespread supervisory failures involving securities such as nontraditional exchange-traded funds, variable annuities and non-traded…
South Florida financial advisor Ariel Hernandez, was reportedly arrested and accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from customers. Hernandez allegedly transferred funds out of customer accounts and into accounts in his name, in the process allegedly forging a customer’s signature. Authorities in the South Florida community of Pembroke…
While former stock promoter Robert J. Vitale sits in prison for two years for lying to investigators in a previous investigation about another matter, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to file fraud charges against him. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern…
Non-traded REITs are illiquid investments, not listed on public exchanges and with a very limited market for sale of shares if the investor wishes to sell subsequent to his or her initial purchase.. Their offering documents typically claim that after some period of time, perhaps 5-10 years, the REIT intends to…
Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C. won an appeal to Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals in West Palm Beach concerning a client’s entitlement to attorneys’ fees under Florida’s Blue Sky law, Fla. Stat. § 517.301. The attorneys’ fees sought arise from a $765,000 arbitration award that the Gray…
We are investigating former Morgan Stanley Smith Barney financial adviser Roger Haigney for possibly misappropriating funds from clients. Mr. Haigney operated out of a branch office in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida but worked with customers in New York and possibly other places. If you’ve lost money because of Mr. Haigney, you…