GWG Investors Sue Western International Securities for Up to $5M Lost In Alleged Affinity Scam
Beverly Hills Financial Planners’ Angelo Talebi Allegedly Worked With One of The Firm’s Brokers to Target Persian American Community Through Radio Ads
Two Maryland investors of Persian descent have filed a FINRA lawsuit seeking up to $5M for their losses from Western International Securities. The claimants, who are older seniors, contend that their financial advisor Daniel Keith Beech misrepresented GWG Holdings L Bonds as safe, low risk investments when they were in fact, high-risk, illiquid junk bonds. Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (investorlawers.com) GWG L Bond Fraud Attorneys is representing this older couple.
Beech allegedly grossly unsuitably recommended that they invest a significant amount of money. Now, these senior investors are looking at a total loss of their principal. We believe they are the target of a suspected affinity scam involving Beverly Hills Financial Planners CEO and investment adviser Angelo Talebi.
The latter purportedly placed ads on Persian Radio to sign up clients of Iranian descent and then sent these prospects Beech, who allegedly improperly paid commission kickbacks Talebi. FINRA suspended Beech in 2023 for these purported kickbacks, and he is no longer a registered representative.
What Is An Affinity Scam?
An affinity scheme is a kind of investment fraud in which a particular group is targeted. This group usually shares some affiliation, such as belonging to the same religion, ethnicity, or community.
For instance, this Maryland couple who is suing Western International Securities felt comfortable calling and inquiring about the ad on Persian Radio because of their shared cultural affinity with Talebi, who is also of Iranian descent. Such mutual ties may create an unwarranted trust and credibility that can enable financial fraud to happen.
Allegations of Financial Advisor Fraud Lead To Dozens of FINRA Lawsuits
Beech, who left Western International Securitas in 2022, was fired by Innovation Partners last year and is no longer a broker. However, he continues to be a registered investment adviser with IP Financial Advisory Services in Oak Park, CA. Daniel Beech’s CRD shows 20 other customer disputes since 2019, most of which have led to settlements while others remain pending. Allegations against him include unsuitability, negligence, misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and more.
Angelo Talebi’s Investment Adviser Disclosure shows 42 disclosures, most of which are customer disputes alleging unsuitability, overconcentration, unsuitable securities sales through a licensed independent securities broker, misrepresentations, negligence, breach of contract, and more.
The majority of investment loss recovery claims listed have resulted in settlements while other cases are still pending. Talebi is also under scrutiny for allegedly unsuitably selling other alternative investments to clients.
Why Work With Our GWG L Bond Fraud Attorneys?
GWG Holdings is accused of running a more than $1.6B Ponzi scam. Meanwhile, dozens of regional broker-dealers benefited from the high commissions they earned from marketing and selling this private placement to investors, including many retirees.
Our L Bond loss recovery lawyers are representing many of these investors, including a number of those who sustained losses while working with a Western International Securities financial advisor.
Even if the broker-dealer wasn’t aware of any alleged fraud or negligence, their failure to properly supervise their registered representative can lead to a FINRA lawsuit in which the investor could be awarded damages.
When you hire us, you become part of our unit of L Bond loss claims that we are zealously representing in FINRA arbitration. This allows you to benefit from all of the investigations we have conducted, and you will work with seasoned securities attorneys that are knowledgeable about why the L Bonds failed, including the role broker misconduct or negligence played in your losses.
We, at Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, have more than a century’s worth of collective experience in securities law and the securities industry. Many of us are former financial advisors who left because we didn’t like the bad behaviors that we saw which were harming investors. It is why we are now exclusively focused on representing investors against broker-dealers and investment advisers.
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