Securities Lawyers Blog
The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP continue to investigate the Massachusetts Securities Division’s enforcement action and administrative complaint against ARO Equity, LLC (ARO Equity), Thomas David Renison (Renison), and Timothy James Allcott (Allcott). The complaint alleges that ARO Equity is Ponzi-scheme.
Upon information and belief former broker Barry Horowitz (Horowitz) recommended Renison and ARO Equity to his investment and legal clients. Horowitz was employed by Lincoln Financial Securities Corporation (Lincoln Financial) until August 2018. At the same time Horowitz worked as an attorney with Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C.
In the ARO Equity fraud, the state of Massachusetts claimed that Allcott was the manager of ARO Equity and together with Renison took $5.8 million of investor funds since August 2015. The complaint alleges that these funds were raised through the sale of unsecured promissory notes promising 8-12% annual returns over three to five-year terms. The complaint alleges that investors made significant investments from their retirement accounts by transferring qualified retirement assets to a self-directed IRA to invest in ARO Equity. Despite representations of safety, the complaint alleged that ARO Equity principals have received undisclosed and excessive commission payments and executive compensation for soliciting investments and bears the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme. In fact, the complaint claims that ARO Equity has only “invested” approximately half of the money received from investors and lost most of it.