Current Investigations

Annuities Fraud Lawyers

Published on: February 13, 2025 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Did Your Broker-Dealer Sell You Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda)? There Is Still Time To Explore Your Legal Options

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Annuities Fraud Lawyers (investorlawyers.com) represent many investors, including foreign nationals from throughout Central America, the Caribbean, and Asia, who have suffered serious investment losses in Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda). If your US broker-dealer marketed and sold you this offshore annuity, contact us today and we can schedule your free case assessment to determine whether you have grounds for a claim.

To date, our Northstar (Bermuda) clients include more than 100 investors, including many retirees, who looked to the US as a safe haven for their assets and trusted their financial advisors to make secure low-to-no-risk investment recommendations. Instead, due to poor broker recommendations, they ended up investing their savings and retirement funds in annuities issued by a company whose owner, Greg Lindberg, recently pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of $2B. Not only that but Lindberg has long been suspected of funneling funds from his numerous insurance companies to his special-purpose vehicles.

Failure To Supervise Attorneys

Published on: February 13, 2025 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Did You Suffer Investment Losses While Working With Investment Advisor Thomas Chadwick

Investors File FINRA Lawsuit Against Fidelity Brokerage Services Alleging $11M in Losses

If you sustained serious portfolio losses while working with financial advisor Thomas Chadwick, Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (investorlawyers.com) want to talk to you. Chadwick, who runs the investment advisory firm Chadwick & D’Amato in New Hampshire, is accused of losing more than $11M of about 100 investors’ money while using Fidelity Brokerage Service’s platform. Now, the broker-dealer is the respondent in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) lawsuit.

Bond Loss Attorneys

Published on: February 13, 2025 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Are You An Investor Who Sustained Losses in GK 7% Bonds? Contact Our Bond Loss Attorneys To Help Determine Whether You Have Grounds For A Claim

Brokerage firms and investment advisers are supposed to conduct the proper due diligence to ensure the suitability of any financial product recommendation or strategy that they make to a customer. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Now there is growing concern that financial firms may not have properly vetted GK 7% Bonds from GK Investment Holdings (GKIH) before marketing and selling them to investors. Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (investorlawyers.com) are looking into these allegations and offering free, no-obligation case consultations to investors who may have been harmed.

GK Investment Holdings issued these GK 7% bonds, which are supposed to pay a 7% interest. In 2022, GK 7% bond investors were warned that if 90% of them didn’t trade in their current bonds for newer bonds by September, there was a very good chance that the private real estate company would default on old bonds and have to seek bankruptcy protection. COVID-19’s effect on real estate was one of the main reasons cited.

Houston Unsuitability Loss Attorneys

Published on: February 13, 2025 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Houston Unsuitability Loss Attorneys Are Representing Texas Investors Against The Brokers That Gave Them Poor Investing Advice

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (investorlawyers.com) is representing Texas investors who have suffered losses because their broker engaged in unsuitability. This is one of the most common legal grounds noted in investment loss recovery claims that are made against broker-dealers and their registered representatives. Contact our Houston, Tx unsuitability loss lawyers so that we can help you determine whether you have grounds for a case.

Broker-dealers and their registered representatives are required to conduct the proper due diligence to ensure the suitability of any recommendation that they make, and, also, to check that whatever financial product or asset they are suggesting is a viable investment and not fraudulent.

L Bond Fraud Attorneys

Published on: February 13, 2025 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas L Bond Fraud Attorneys Win Six-Figure GWG L Bonds Arbitration Award For Retiree Against SW Financial

Boca Raton Investor Entrusted Broker-Dealer To Keep Her Money Safe

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has awarded a Boca Raton, Florida investor $174,507.98 in compensatory damages in her GWG L Bond fraud lawsuit against SW Financial. Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (investorlawyers.com) represented this claimant, who is a retiree and a novice investor, in pursuing the financial recovery she was owed.

Unauthorized Trading Lawyers

Published on: February 13, 2025 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Are You An Investor Who Sustained Portfolio Losses While Working With Ex-Feltl & Co. Broker Justin Pagel? Our Unauthorized Trading Lawyers May Be Able To Help

If you sustained investment losses while ex-stockbroker Justin William Pagel, Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Unauthorized Trading Lawyers (investorlawyers.com) would like to talk to you. Pagel, who was a Feltl & Co. broker from August 2011 to May 2024, was recently suspended by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for 10 months following allegations that he allegedly made unsuitable recommendations to certain customers and violated their best interests. This purportedly included investing part of their assets in speculative, high-risk stocks and engaging in short-term trading.

Pagel also is accused of exercising discretion when making 360 trades in 47 customer accounts without getting these clients’ written authorization or his broker-dealer’s authorization to regard these accounts as discretionary. He also purportedly mismarked 587 solicited trades as unsolicited in more than 50 customer accounts.

Oregon Overconcentration Law Firm

Published on: February 12, 2025 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Portland, Oregon Overconcentration Law Firm. Our Broker-Dealer Attorneys Represent Oregon Investors Who Suffered Losses Because of a Failure To Diversify

From our Portland, OR securities law offices, the Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Oregon Overconcentration Law Firm (investorlawyers.com) represent investors in Oregon who sustained portfolio losses because their stockbroker excessively concentrated their accounts. This is also known as overconcentration and it can lead to serious losses.

What Is Overconcentration As It Relates To Broker Misconduct?

Reg D Offering Loss Attorneys

Published on: February 3, 2025 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Did You Suffer Investor Losses in HJ Sims Private Placements? Our Reg D Offering Loss Attorneys Are Here To Help

If you are an investor who sustained serious losses in a Herbert J. Sims private placement, Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Reg D Offering Loss Attorneys (investorlawers.com) can help you determine whether you have grounds for an investment loss recovery claim against this broker-dealer. These are Regulation D offerings, which can be high-risk, complex, and illiquid. There are concerns that this broker-dealer allegedly unsuitably—perhaps even fraudulently—sold $2B of these investments to customers.

In December 2024, the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation announced that it was looking at penalizing HJ Sims $480,000 for alleged failures involving due diligence, compliance, and recordkeeping related to its sale of these private placement offerings to residents in the state. In a proposed cease and desist order, the brokerage firm would also be barred from selling more securities there.

Broker Attorneys

Published on: January 29, 2025 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Did Your Arete Financial Advisor Sell You Shares in the Zona Energy Oil and Gas Scam? Our Broker Attorneys Are Here To Help You Explore Your Legal Options

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Broker Attorneys (investorlawyers.com) is investigating allegations that Arete Wealth Management, Arete Wealth Advisors, and ex-Arete registered representatives Jeffrey Scott Larson, Randall (Randy) Scott Larson, and Joey Dale Miller committed broker fraud when soliciting dozens of clients to buy over $8M in shares of Zona Energy, Inc.

Arete reportedly never approved Zona securities for offer or sale. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing the Arete entities, their three former brokers, and Arete CCO UnBo “Bob” Chung over their purported involvement in the Zona Energy oil and gas investment scam.

SSEK Unsuitability Attorney

Published on: January 29, 2025 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

More Investors Sue For Losses Sustained While Working With Ex-Fortune Financial Services Broker Richard Wesselt. More Than Three Dozen Investment Loss Recovery Claims Filed By Former Customers

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Unsuitability Attorney teams (investorlawyers.com) is continuing to investigate allegations that ex-Fortune Financial Services stockbroker Richard Wesselt made unsuitable investment recommendations to customers, which caused them to sustain losses. According to Wesselt’s CRD he has 43 disclosures, and most of these are investment loss recovery claims.

In the still pending unsuitability cases, former customers are collectively seeking almost $5M in damages. Most of the other investor claims resulted in settlements, including one for $1.5M and many for five- or six-figures. Other allegations made against Wesselt include making misrepresentations and omissions about the products he purportedly unsuitably recommended—including overselling them—churning, having clients take loans from policies, purportedly forging their signatures on loan documents, and more.