Securities Lawyers Blog
The securities lawyers of Gana Weinstein LLP recently filed a complaint on behalf of a client alleging that Laidlaw & Company (UK) Ltd. (Laidlaw) recommended the investor purchase a micro cap stock underwritten by the firm in violation of the securities laws. According to newsources and public filings Laidlaw has been involved in the fraudulent promotion of numerous small and micro cap stocks to their clients in violation of their duties to their clients to disclose conflicts of interests. These violations also include potentially facilitating pump-and-dump schemes.
Recently, one of Laidlaw’s clients, Barry Hoing (Hoing), was charged by The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for generating $27 million through a “classic pump-and-dump scheme.” The SEC’s allegations focus on stocks including BioZone Pharmaceuticals (now Cocrystal Pharma) (COCP), MGT Capital (OTC: MGTI), and MabVax Therapeutics (OTC: MBVX). However, other public filings reveal Hoing was also involved in other stocks including Riot Blockchain (RIOT), PolarityTE (PTE formerly COOL), and Marathon Patent Group (MARA). In addition, Laidlaw was involved in other securities offerings including Aethlon Medical, Actinium, Boston Therapeutics, 5G Investment, Alliaqua, Aspen Group, Brazahav Resources, Fusion Telecoms International, Protea Biosciences Group, Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, Medovex Corp, Relmada Therapeutics, Sevion Therapeutics, Spectrascience, and Spherix.
The investor in the filed complaint invested in 5G Investment and claims that the Laidlaw has manipulated 5G Investment and FTE Networks in order for the firm and its principals to profit at the investor’s expense. In addition, the investor also alleged that his broker Craig Bonn (Bonn) churned his account generating significant profits for the brokers and losses for the investor. Then, the brokers allegedly recommended that the investor make a substantial investment in 5G Investment almost completely on margin.
According to public filings Laidlaw serves as the broker dealer for many of companies secondary Regulation D offering or Private Investment in a Public Company (PIPE) deals as part of the company’s scheme. Laidlaw’s facilitation of trading through these deals is alleged to create liquidity in the market so preferred investors and the firm can dump stocks at their client’s expense.
Laidlaw referred to these conflicted offerings as “WPGAT Deals” which stands for “We are pretty good at this.” Laidlaw’s owners formed a company called WPGAT which is listed as a managing director of PPLL Partners LLC. This company purportedly stands for “Pump Pump Loose Loose.”
According to newsources, Laidlaw’s WPGAT group of brokers include Richard Michlski, Kevin Wilson, Brian Robertson, Michael Murray, Luke Kottke, Daniel Kuhar, Henry McCormack, Christopher Oppito, and Craig Bonn.
Investors who have suffered losses are encouraged to contact us at (800) 810-4262 for consultation. Investors may be able recover their losses through securities arbitration. The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are experienced in representing investors in pump and dump cases and brokerage firms’ failure to disclose conflicts of interests to their clients. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.