Retired Washington Couple Sues Arete Wealth Management Over GWG L Bonds
Claimants Worked With A Center Street Securities Broker Prior to That Firm’s Acquisition By Arete
Two senior investors are seeking up to $500K in damages from brokerage firm Arete Wealth Management over losses they sustained in GWG L Bonds. They contend that their former broker James Joseph Toddy allegedly unsuitably recommended GWG Holdings to them while providing no meaningful disclosure of the many risks involved. This is considered making misrepresentations and omissions. Now, the Washington State couple is seeking up to $500K in damages from Arete.
Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas L Bond Loss Recovery Law Firm (investorlawyers.com) are representing these retirees, who are in their seventies, in pursuing the damages they are owed. They also suffered losses in other illiquid non-traded products which, like L Bonds, pay broker-dealers high commissions but are generally not in the best interest of conservative elderly investors.
We believe that Toddy used a “one size fits all” approach when dealing with his clients which benefited the firm to their detriment.
These claimants suffered a total loss of the principal they invested in GWG and, potentially, in the other investment products. This has destabilized their financial future because huge portions of their retirement assets were overconcentrated in GWG Holdings.
The alternative asset company has since been accused of operating a more than $1.6B Ponzi scam that has caused serious losses to many investors, including retirees and seniors.
It is important to note that the alleged broker negligence occurred while Toddy was a Center Street Securities financial advisor. That brokerage firm sold millions of dollars in these high-risk junk bonds to investors. It is one of the reasons that Center Street went out of business because it was sued by customers and couldn’t pay them.
While Arete, which acquired the firm, may argue that it cannot be liable for purported broker misconduct that occurred prior to the de facto merger, the law supports successor liability in this case.
Toddy, who was a Center Street Securities financial advisor in Arizona for 11 years—and was briefly an Arete Wealth Management registered representative—is now a United Planners Financial Services of America, A Limited Partner stockbroker.
Our L Bond Loss Recovery Law Firm Has Been Investigating GWG Holdings Since 2022
Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas have been looking into this alternative asset firm’s questionable activities since it sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection two years ago.
We have since filed dozens of investment loss recovery claims against the many regional brokerage firms that failed to conduct the proper due diligence to make sure this was a legitimate, safe investment.
Should we agree to work together, you will become part of our unit of GWG L Bond lawsuits represented by our entire securities firm. With a collective more than a century’s worth of experience in securities law and the securities industry, we have the skills and resources to fight for you.
We know that many of you were blindsided by your losses and had no idea that GWG Chairman Brad Heppner was diverting your money into his Beneficient Group. To this day it remains questionable whether L Bond investors will get any distributions from the bankruptcy proceedings.
The GWG Litigation Trust trustee has notified investors that they should explore their legal options with a knowledgeable investment loss recovery attorney.
To Schedule Your Free, No-Obligation Case Consultation About Your GWG Holdings Losses with our L Bond Loss Recovery Law Firm:
Call (800) 259-9010 or fill out this form.