Investor Lawyers Blog
Syosset, NY-based stockbroker Matthew Eckstein was recently charged with three counts of second-degree grand larceny, third degree grand larceny, and two counts of first-degree scheme to defraud by the Nassau County District Attorney. These charges stem from Mr. Eckstein’s business as a financial advisor in Garden City, NY, and more specifically, allegations that he “betrayed his clients’ trust when he stole their money in a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme and even pilfered hundred of thousands from the estates of deceased clients” according to Madeline Singas, the Nassau County District Attorney.
FINRA BrokerCheck indicates that Matthew Evan Eckstein’s (CRD# 2997245) career in the securities industry dates back to 1998, when he first began working as a registered representative for Gould, Ambroson & Associates Ltd. (“Gould”) (CRD# 17412) in Garden City, NY. Since September 16, 2015, Mr. Eckstein has been registered at his own broker-dealer, Sisk Investment Services, Inc. (“Sisk”) (CRD# 19406), where he is chief executive and chief compliance officer. On April 27, 2018, FINRA Enforcement filed a Complaint naming Mr. Eckstein as Respondent. As alleged by FINRA, from December 2014 until December 2015, Mr. Eckstein purportedly sold over $1.3 million in supposedly safe private investments akin to CDs to numerous clients.
Publicly available information suggests Mr. Eckstein’s alleged victims are from Massapequa, Seaford, Smithtown, Melville, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Norwalk, CT, Jupiter, FL, and Redlands, CA. In January 2015, Mr. Eckstein allegedly convinced one customer to invest approximately $385,000 into a company, Conmac Funding (“Conmac”), that was touted as a safe, no-risk investment. Further, Mr. Eckstein purportedly assured the client that the investment principal would be returned in two years, with an additional four-percent interest, much like a certificate of deposit. However, as recently reported, when the client requested his money back two years later, he only received $26,699.
On March 27, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced formal charges against Wedbush Securities Inc. (“Wedbush”, CRD# 877) with respect to allegations that the broker-dealer failed to supervise its employee, Ms. Timary Delorme (f/k/a Timary Koller) (“Delorme”). Based on its investigation, the SEC alleged Wedbush ignored numerous red flags indicating that Ms. Delorme — who has been affiliated with Wedbush as a registered representative since 1981 — was purportedly involved in a manipulative penny stock trading scheme with Izak Zirk Englebrecht, a/k/a Zirk De Maison “(“Englebrecht”).
Investors who suffered losses due to misconduct by financial advisor Ralph Savoie (CRD# 411660) may be able to recover their losses in arbitration before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). On March 26, 2018, Mr. Savoie plead guilty in Louisiana federal court to stealing up to $1.5 million from clients, using their monies for personal expenses including jewelry, hotels, and credit card bills, as well as to pay off previous clients in Ponzi-fashion in connection with prior purported investment opportunities. Mr. Savoie allegedly guaranteed his clients high rates of returns on various investments in securities and insurance products, describing the investments as a “sure thing.” In actuality, however, Mr. Savoie allegedly engaged in misconduct by using these funds on personal expenses, to pay prior clients and to funnel money into a “risky real estate venture.”
On February 9, 2017, FINRA Enforcement signed off on a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”) between FINRA and former financial advisor Matthew C. Maczko (“Maczko” or “Respondent”) (CRD# 1888519). Without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, Mr. Maczko voluntarily consented to an industry bar from associating with any FINRA member firm in any capacity.
As we recently discussed in detail in a previous blog post, on December 21, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) formally announced charges, as well as an asset freeze, against the Woodbridge Group of Companies (“Woodbridge”) of Sherman Oaks, CA, as well as Woodbridge’s related unregistered investment funds, and the firm’s owner and former CEO, Robert Shapiro. Among other things, the SEC has alleged in its Complaint – filed in Florida federal court – that “[D]efendant Robert H. Shapiro used his web of more than 275 Limited Liability Companies to conduct a massive 
“The SEC suspended trading in the securities of 61 empty shell companies that are delinquent in their public filings and seemingly no longer in business based on an analysis by the SEC’s Microcap Fraud Working Group,” SEC officials stated in a statement. “Since microcap companies are thinly traded, once they become dormant they have a great potential to be hijacked by fraudsters who falsely hype the stock to portray it as a thriving company and coerce investors into ‘pump-and-dump’ schemes.” Reportedly, these companies were identified in 17 states and one foreign country. Following this suspension, these companies are required to prove they are still operational with updated financial information. However, securities arbitration lawyers say that while these companies became useless to fraudsters once they were suspended, it is difficult for them to identify every shell company that is a possible tool for fraud in time to prevent fraud from occurring. According to investment fraud lawyers, in a pump-and-dump scheme, fraudsters will use false and misleading statements to sell investments in the company, purchasing the stock at a low price, “pumping” the price of the stock higher and then selling the stock at a profit. Previously, the SEC suspended 379 such companies in one day, making this the second-largest suspension in history. A