GPB fraud lawyer

Advisor Barbara Shaffer Had Customer Complaints Relating to GPB

February 4, 2024 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), advisor Barbara Shaffer (Shaffer), currently employed at Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. (Cambridge), has been subject to at least four customer complaints during the course of her career. Several of those complaints against Shaffer allege that Shaffer engaged in authorized trading and recommended unsuitable investments, including into the GPB Ponzi scheme among other allegations of misconduct relating to the handling of their accounts. However, three of these complaints have been expunged from Shaffer’s record under FINRA’s notoriously flawed expungement procedures.

In January 2020, a customer complained that Shaffer violated securities laws by alleging that Shaffer engaged in negligent investment advice and breach of fiduciary duty. The claim alleged $100,000 in damages and settled for $45,000.

In another complaint, the customer alleged unsuitability and breach of fiduciary duty against focused on a $100,000 investment in GPB Automotive Fund, L.P. The GPB funds were later accused of being a Ponzi Scheme by many regulators and its executive officers have been indicted by the DOJ.

National Securities Christopher Ortiz Has Private Placement Complaints

May 18, 2021 | by Staff Attorney

Advisor Christopher Ortiz (Ortiz), currently employed by National Securities (National Securities) has been subject to at least two customer complaints during the course of his career. According to a BrokerCheck report the complaints appear to concern unsuitable investments in private placements investments. These allegations may concern investments in GPB Capital Holdings (GPB Capital) related investments. National Securities is known to have approved their brokers to sell GPB Capital to their clients.

On February 4, 2021 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (DOJ), and seven states filed separate simultaneous actions against GPB Capital and other defendants connected to the firm accusing it of being a Ponzi-like scheme. In a press release the SEC stated that it “charged three individuals and their affiliated entities with running a Ponzi-like scheme that raised over $1.7 billion…”

As reported by Bloomberg “If proved, [GPB] would be one of the largest such schemes to target individual investors since the massive frauds of Bernard Madoff and Robert Allen Stanford came to light.” The DOJ indicted David Gentile, the founder of GPB, Jeffry Schneider, the owner and CEO of Ascendant Capital LLC, and Jeffrey Lash, a former managing partner of GPB relating to the fraud. If convicted, the defendants each face up to 20 years’ imprisonment.[1]

New York Attorney General Letitia James accused GPB of “defrauding investors across the country out of more than $700 million through a Ponzi-like scheme that offered to pay investors generous monthly distributions they could never deliver.”[2] Further, “Investors put in more than $1.8 billion into GPB funds but were left without a single cent of profit,” said Attorney General James. Investor funds are alleged to have been spent to subsidize expensive toys like private planes, Ferrari sports cars, and luxury travel for the three defendants.

What’s GPB Worth Now? “According to court papers, GPB claimed to manage just $239 million as of December, despite raising the $1.8 billion.”[3] If true, this would reflect approximately 13% of investors’ total investments across all GPB funds. Continue Reading

Advisor Darren Oglesby Has Potential Complaint Regarding GPB Capital

April 12, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

Advisor Darren Oglesby (Oglesby), currently employed by Money Concepts Capital Corp. (Money Concepts) has been subject to at least four customer complaints during the course of his career. According to a BrokerCheck report one of the customer complaints that may concern fraudulent GPB Capital Holdings (GPB Capital) related investments.

GPB Capital is facing multiple accusations of being a Ponzi scheme, an ongoing U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and FBI investigations, and even GPB’s chief compliance officier being indicted for illegally obtaining information on the SEC’s investigation. Now even Volkswagen and Toyota are threatening to pull the plug on GPB Capital auto dealerships. While advisors have been telling investors to do absolutely nothing and just hang in there – this is nothing more than just additional poor advice. In November 2019 GPB Capital’s admitted that no financial audit would occur anytime in the near future. The firm has admitted that it has never been profitable and has merely returned investor capital in the past in order to fake a successful business model. In sum, investors now know there is nothing to hang onto. By the day, advisor recommendations to do nothing appear to be completely self-serving, out of the loop, and not in the interest of the investor.

In August 2019 a customer complained that Oglesby violated the securities laws by alleging that Hoidas engaged in sales practice violations related to a claim with FINRA that an investment was an unsuitable product, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. The claim alleges $100,000 in damages and is currently pending.

Advisor Joseph Roop Has Customer Complaints Over Alternative Investments

March 24, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

Advisor Joseph Roop (Roop), formerly employed by Kalos Capital, Inc. (Kalos) has been subject to at least seven customer complaints and one bankruptcy during the course of his career. According to a BrokerCheck report some of the customer complaints concern alternative investments such as direct participation products (DPPs) like non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), oil & gas programs, and annuities. The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP have represented hundreds of investors who suffered losses caused by these types of high risk, low reward products.

In addition, brokers at Kalos have been accused of selling millions in fraudulent GPB Capital Holdings (GPB Capital) related investments. GPB Capital is facing multiple accusations of being a Ponzi scheme, an ongoing U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and FBI investigations, and even GPB’s chief compliance officier being indicted for illegally obtaining information on the SEC’s investigation. Now even Volkswagen and Toyota are threatening to pull the plug on GPB Capital auto dealerships. While advisors have been telling investors to do absolutely nothing and just hang in there – this is nothing more than just additional poor advice. In November 2019 GPB Capital’s admitted that no financial audit would occur anytime in the near future. The firm has admitted that it has never been profitable and has merely returned investor capital in the past in order to fake a successful business model. In sum, investors now know there is nothing to hang onto. By the day, advisor recommendations to do nothing appear to be completely self-serving, out of the loop, and not in the interest of the investor.

In July 2019 a customer complained that Roop violated the securities laws by alleging that Roop engaged in sales practice violations related to unsuitable investments in alternative securities (REITS, etc.) during the time period from 2012 through 2017. The claim alleges $450,000 in damages and is currently pending.

In October 2018 a customer complained that Roop violated the securities laws by alleging that Roop engaged in sales practice violations related to unsuitable investments and sale of securities when not properly registered in the State of Alabama from January 2011 through July 2014. The claim alleges $100,000 in damages and was settled for $90,000.

GPB Capital Alleged to Have Been Sold by Purshe Kaplan Even After Compliance Discovered Red Flags of Fraud

December 22, 2019 | by Staff Attorney

According to a compliance officer with Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, Inc., (Purshe Kaplan) the firm continued to sell securities offered by GPB Capital Holdings (GPB Capital) after she had reported misgivings as to the entities business model and recommended that the firm not sell the product. According to court documents, the compliance officers responsibilities included reviewing new product offerings, regulatory disclosures, and conducting monthly and quarterly compliance reviews among other duties.

In January 2016, the compliance officer raised concerns about GPB Capital and did not recommend that the product be added to the Purshe Kaplan platform based upon her finding that members of senior management at the sponsor of the product were using investor funds for personal business interests. However, Purshe Kaplan dismissed her concerns and re-reviewed GPB Capital without the compliance officer’s input. Further, Purshe Kaplan instructed the compliance officer not to raise concerns about the product before it was offered to purchasers. Moreover, it was alleged that less experienced personnel were given the role to evaluate GPB Capital. If these allegations are true Purshe Kaplan may have intentionally withheld material information from all of its investors concerning GPB Capital.

One private placement that a large number of clients of Purshe Kaplan were sold is GPB Capital related investments. GPB Capital is facing multiple accusations of being a Ponzi scheme, an ongoing U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and FBI investigations, and even GPB’s chief compliance officer being indicted for illegally obtaining information on the SEC’s investigation. Now even Volkswagen and Toyota are threatening to pull the plug on GPB Capital auto dealerships. While advisors have been telling investors to do absolutely nothing and just hang in there – this is nothing more than just additional poor advice. In November 2019 GPB Capital’s admitted that no financial audit would occur anytime in the near future. In sum, investors now know there is nothing to hang onto. By the day, advisor recommendations to do nothing appear to be completely self-serving, out of the loop, and not in the interest of the investor.