The attorneys with the law firm of Shepherd, Smith, Edwards & Kantas LLP are currently investigating claims involving Larry Dearman, Sr. Larry Dearman moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma in 2005, when he began working as a financial advisor in the area. He was registered both with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) as a broker, as well as being registered as an investment advisor representative, which is done through the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Since 2005, Mr. Dearman has been registered with Cambridge Legacy Securities, LLC, Securities America, Inc., Brecek & Young Advisors, and The Focus Group Advisors.
Recently, Mr. Dearman was charged by the SEC, along with a woman named Marya Gray, of defrauding a number of his clients in a variety of ways. According to the SEC complaint, Mr. Dearman solicited his clients to invest in an internet company and a real estate company, among others, telling those customers that these investments bore very little risk and were good investment opportunities. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Mr. Dearman specifically solicited clients of his who had known him and his family for decades, members of his church, and people who know of him as a popular wedding singer. All told, he collected almost $5 million from various clients for these investments.
The SEC alleges that, in reality, the money was being stolen by Mr. Dearman and his cohort, Marya Gray. They were making Ponzi scheme style payments to earlier investors to keep those individuals complacent and to avoid arousing suspicion, all the while stealing the rest of the funds and spending it on themselves. The SEC also claims that Ms. Gray has admitted that the real estate business had never actually conducted any business, which would add substantial credence to the fraudulent nature of these investments.
Typically, when an investment “professional” becomes involved in outright theft, there are a number of other problems beneath the surface. It is likely that other clients of Mr. Dearman, regardless of the firm he was working with at the time, may have been treated improperly, either by having their accounts churned (where excessive trades are conducted to assess extra commissions for the broker even though they do not benefit the client), or by being sold improper, high commission investments, such as private placements, non-traded real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), annuities, or any number of other potential securities law violations.
If you have suffered losses from investments you made with Larry Dearman, contact the offices of Shepherd, Smith, Edwards, & Kantas LLP for a free, no obligation consultation. You may have a right to seek to recover some or all of your losses in court or arbitration.
Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LLP has a team of attorneys, consultants and staff with more than 100 years of combined experience in the securities industry and in securities law. Since 1990, we have represented thousands of investors nationwide to recover losses. We have represented clients in Federal and state courts and in arbitration through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the New York Stock Exchange Inc. (NYSE), the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and in private arbitration actions. Collectively, we have represented over 1,000 investors over the last 18 years in negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation.