According to InvestmentNews, a number of independent broker-dealers could find themselves in legal hot waters, should investors decide to pursue them through arbitration for selling UDF real estate investment trusts. United Development Funding is under investigation over allegations that the UDF IV was run for years like a Ponzi scam.…
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has raided the Dallas offices of United Development Funding. The publicly traded real estate investment trust recently came under fire amid allegations that it has been run like a Ponzi scam for years. Since the accusations against UDF IV were published on the Harvest Fund…
J. Kyle Bass, the hedge fund manager who runs the Dallas-based Hayman Capital, has set up a website accusing Texas-based REIT United Development Funding IV of running a Ponzi-like real estate scam. On the site, Bass published a letter to readers, claiming that his firm had conducted research and found…
John Morgan, the Texas securities commissioner, is ordering SoBell Corp. and its owner Andrew Gamber to stop selling its Pension Income Stream Program in the state of Texas. SoBell, which is based in Mississippi, executes agreements with pension benefits recipients to sell their income stream to investors for $35K to…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a motion for summary judgment in its case against Gregory Jones. The Texas lawyer is facing civil charges accusing him of defrauding investors in two securities offerings, including a fracking water filtration deal and an oil and gas exploration venture. Now, the…
Investors have filed a class action securities case claiming that the Texas nontraded real estate investment trust United Development Funding IV (NASDAQ:UDF) and certain of its officers violated federal securities laws. The complaint come a month after the Harvest Exchange website published a report accusing the Company of running a…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority claims that Caldwell International Securities Corp. engaged in the churning of customer accounts and that this purportedly resulted in $1 million in excess commissions for the firm. The self-regulatory organization says that the alleged violations began in 2011. According to FINRA, the Texas-based company’s founder…
Robert B. Hahn has pled guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in a $5.4M Texas financial fraud that bilked about 100 investors. He faces up to 20 years behind bars. According to information presented before the judge, from 1/07 to 2/15, Hahn, who was an insurance agent, claimed to…
A Dallas jury says that Southwest Securities Inc., which is a broker-dealer owned by PlainsCapital subsidiary Hilltop Holdings, and broker Leighton Stallones are liable for statutory fraud, fraud, and conspiracy and violation of securities laws related to a 2007 real estate scam. Now, the firm must pay two investors, SSST…
Ex-Dallas Broker Accused of Texas Securities Fraud Face Five Years Wade Lawrence, a former Dallas broker, has pleaded guilty to Texas securities fraud. As part of his plea bargain the 43-year-old will have to forfeit $1.5 million and pay over $250,000 in fines. He also faces up to five years…