FINRA Arbitration Lawyer

There Is Still Time To Pursue Damages From Oppenheimer Over Your Horizon Private Equity III Losses 

SEC Bars Former Southport Capital Investment Advisers For Alleged Involvement in $110M Ponzi Scam

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas FINRA Arbitration Lawyer Teams (investorlawyers.com) is representing investors who sustained losses in the $110M Horizon Private Equity III Ponzi scam. Run by ex-Oppenheimer broker John Justin Woods, this investment scheme defrauded hundreds of investors, including seniors, veterans, and retirees from at least 20 US states. Woods also ran the registered investment advisory firm Southport Capital (Livingston Group Asset Management Company) while he was with Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer, which was not involved in the alleged Ponzi fraud, has had to pay over $50M to settle investors’ arbitration claims for its purported failure to properly supervise Woods and/or detect/prevent/stop his scam, which went on for over a decade. More settlements and/or awards are likely.

In February 2024, Woods was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud. He has to pay up to $49.6M in restitution.

Now, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled civil charges against ex-Southport Capital investment advisers Michael Jeremiah Mooney, Penny Gail Flippen, and Britt Franklin Wright over their alleged roles in unsuitably recommending Horizon Private Equity III. Many of their clients that were impacted were older investors wanting a safe investment. Instead, at the advice of these investment advisors, they purportedly invested $62M into Horizon.

The three of them received compensation for their recommendations while allegedly neglecting to disclose critical information. This included Woods’ instruction that they refrain from using Southport emails to communicate. They also allegedly disregarded the red flags indicating that Horizon Private Equity III was likely a scam. Flippen, Mooney, and Wright are now permanently barred.

Michael Mooney has 51 disclosures on his CRD. Most of them are customer disputes related to this Ponzi scam. John Woods has 58 disclosures, again most of them over Horizon Private Equity III losses.

What Should You Do If You Suffered Losses in Horizon Private Equity III?

The first step is to contact our seasoned Ponzi scam lawyers today to schedule your initial case assessment. Going after a broker-dealer as huge as Oppenheimer is no easy task if you do have grounds for a claim for damages. You will want to have savvy securities representation that can thoroughly investigate the full extent of your investment losses, build and file a solid FINRA lawsuit on your behalf, and fight for your financial recovery in mediation and/or arbitration.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration is where you would need to bring this type of dispute, and the investment loss recovery attorneys that you retain should have experience in this legal forum. Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas FINRA Arbitration Lawyer Teams has represented thousands of investors in more than 1000 matters in arbitration, mediation, and litigation. Should we decide to work together, our Ponzi scam lawyers have the knowledge, skills, and resources to give you the best chance possible for financial recovery.

Broker-dealers have a duty to properly oversee their registered representatives and protect clients’ funds. Unfortunately, failure to supervise is one of the most common reasons cited in FINRA arbitration lawsuits against financial firms.

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