Investor Lawyers Blog
Investment fraud lawyers continue to investigate claims on behalf of investors who suffered significant losses as a result of an unsuitable recommendation of non-traded REITs, or real estate investment trusts. Last month, securities regulators of Massachusetts ordered five independent broker-dealers (IBDs) to pay an additional $10.75 million in restitution over sales of non-traded REITs. The relevant sales occurred beginning in 2005.
The five firms involved in this order are Ameriprise Financial Services Inc., Commonwealth Financial Network, Securities America Inc., Royal Alliance Associates Inc. and Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. This order follows one made in May, in which the five IBDs agreed to pay $975,000 in fines and restitution of $6.1 million. Prior to that decision, LPL Financial agreed to pay restitution of $4.8 million to Massachusetts clients.
Of the $10.75 million, Securities America must pay $7.5 million, Ameriprise Financial must pay $1.6 million, Lincoln Financial must pay $841,000, Commonwealth must pay $534,000 and Royal Alliance must pay $125,000. This order, combined with the previous orders, requires restitution of $21.6 million to Massachusetts clients over improper sales of non-traded REITs. Non-Massachusetts investors will not benefit from this restitution. However, securities arbitration lawyers say that investors in other states can still recover losses sustained in risky non-traded REITs sold by these firms in securities arbitration.